Planetary Science

NASA celebrates first historic helicopter flight on Mars

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A navigation camera on NASA’s Perseverance rover captured this view of the Ingenuity helicopter’s historic flight Monday. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech An automated mini-helicopter driven by two fast-spinning, counter-rotating rotors took off from the surface of Mars, hovered for 30 seconds, then successfully landed Monday to complete the historic first powered flight of a powered aircraft on …

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Astrobotic selects SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy to launch robotic lunar lander

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A Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off in April 2019 with the Arabsat 6A commercial communications satellite. Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now A commercial lunar lander built by Astrobotic will launch from the Kennedy Space Center on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in late 2023 to deliver a water-hunting NASA rover to the moon’s …

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Mars helicopter needs a software update before attempting first flight

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NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter unlocked its rotor blades, allowing them to spin freely, on April 7. They had been held in place since before launch, and the unlocking is one of several milestones that must be met before the helicopter can attempt the first powered, controlled flight on another planet. This image was captured by the …

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NASA’s Mars helicopter ready for pre-flight checkouts

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The Ingenuity helicopter on the surface of Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Mission controllers plan to unlock the blades on NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter and spin them up to more than 2,000 rpm for a test later this week, a bit of “calisthenics”  before the rotorcraft’s first flight in the atmosphere of Mars as soon as this weekend, …

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Perseverance rover’s zoomable camera checks out on Red Planet

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The Perseverance rover’s Mastcam-Z instrument took this picture of the Martian horizon Tuesday, March 30. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS Scientists have confirmed the first zoomable camera on Mars is in top-top shape since arriving aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover in February, adding a long-distance survey capability to the robot’s scientific toolkit. The zoomable imaging instrument, which is actually …

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Mars rover deploys Ingenuity helicopter for historic flight

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This camera view from the Perseverance rover shows the Ingenuity helicopter on the surface of Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s Perseverance rover released the Ingenuity helicopter onto the surface of Mars Saturday, leaving behind the experimental flying drone to survive on its own power until attempting a historic hop in the Red Planet’s thin carbon dioxide …

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China’s Tianwen 1 mission targets mid-May landing on Mars

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China’s Tianwen 1 orbiter took this picture of Mars on March 18 from a distance of approximately 7,100 miles (11,500 kilometers). Credit: CNSA China’s Tianwen 1 spacecraft — in orbit around Mars since February — is scheduled to deploy a descent module to attempt the country’s first landing on the Red Planet in mid-May. Officials …

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Perseverance rover begins steps to deploy Mars helicopter

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A camera on the end of the Perseverance rover’s robotic arm captured this view of the Ingenuity helicopter hanging from the robot’s belly Monday. Credit: NASA NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter is being lowered from the belly of the Perseverance rover this week as ground teams run through a choreographed long-distance command sequence to safely release the …

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Northrop Grumman to supply solid rocket motors for first Mars Ascent Vehicle

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This illustration shows a concept of how the NASA Mars Ascent Vehicle, carrying tubes containing rock and soil samples, could be launched from the surface of Mars in one step of the Mars sample return mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-Catlech NASA awarded Northrop Grumman a contract worth as much as $84.5 million earlier this month to supply …

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NASA primed for historic flight of experimental Mars helicopter

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An artist’s illustration of the Ingenuity Helicopter flying on Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s Perseverance rover will soon release a small rotorcraft onto the surface of Mars and drive a safe distance away to observe a series of historic test flights in the ultra-thin Martian atmosphere, which could begin around April 8, officials said this week. …

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