Washington (AFP)
NASA's Ingenuity mini-helicopter, which arrived on Mars in February attached to the Perseverance rover, survived its first night alone on the Red Planet, the US agency said, stressing that it was a "major step" before its first flight.
The ultralight helicopter, which looks like a large drone, detached from the Perseverance rover on Saturday, which landed on Mars on February 18.
Ingenuity had previously relied on the rover's energy, but now relies on its own solar panels to be able to survive by warming up during the frigid Martian nights when the temperature can drop to -90 ° Celsius.
Surviving the freezing Martian night was "a major milestone" for the mini-helicopter, NASA said in a statement Monday.
"This is the first time that Ingenuity has been alone on the surface of Mars," added MiMi Aung, head of the Ingenuity project at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA's laboratory.
“We now have confirmation that it was the right insulation, the right heaters, and that it has enough energy in its batteries to survive the cold nights, which is a great success for the team. continue to prepare Ingenuity for its first test flight, ”she continued.
Over the next few days, Ingenuity will undergo engine and sensor tests.
If all goes well, the mini-helicopter should complete its first test flight, which will not take place until the evening of April 11, according to JPL.
If the experiment is successful, it will be a real feat, because the Martian air is of a density equivalent to only 1% of that of the Earth's atmosphere.
This will be the first flight of a motorized vehicle on another planet.
Composed of four feet, a body and two superimposed propellers, Ingenuity weighs only 1.8 kg and measures 1.2 m from one end of its blades to the other.
NASA has revealed that a small piece of fabric from the Wright brothers' aircraft that took off more than a century ago in North Carolina, United States, had been placed, as a tribute, on Ingenuity, and was therefore currently found on Mars.
© 2021 AFP