Solar System

Mars helicopter needs a software update before attempting first flight

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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Launch of asteroid deflection demonstrator slips to November

NASA’s DART spacecraft is prepared for thermal testing in February. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman The launch of a NASA spacecraft designed to smash into an asteroid to try out a technique that could protect Earth from threatening space rocks has slipped from July until November, at the earliest, after development delays partially caused by …

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