NASA Mars Helicopter INGENUITY.
                     Conference presentation
NASA Mars Helicopter 
INGENUITY
Introduction
 NASA had originally aimed to conduct the 
first Red Planet flight of its Ingenuity 
helicopter the first-ever powered flight on a 
world beyond Earth on Sunday April 11.
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Modification
 Analyzing the issue, the Ingenuity team has 
concluded that minor modification and 
reinstallation of Ingenuity’s flight control 
software is the most robust path forward.
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Ingenuity is a flight test
 Ingenuity is what is known as a technology 
demonstration a project that seeks to test a 
new capability for the first time, with limited 
scope. 
 Previous groundbreaking technology 
demonstrations include the Mars Pathfinder 
rover Sojourner and the tiny Mars Cube One 
(MarCO) CubeSats that flew by Mars in 
2018.
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Ingenuity Features
 Ingenuity features four specially made 
carbon-fiber blades, arranged into two 
rotors that spin in opposite directions at 
around 2,400 rpm many times faster than a 
passenger helicopter on Earth. 
 It also has innovative solar cells, batteries, 
and other components. 
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First aircraft to attempt controlled 
flight on another planet
 NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter will make 
history's first attempt at powered flight on 
another planet next spring. 
 It is riding with the agency's next mission to 
Mars as it launches from Cape Canaveral Air 
Force Station later this summer. 
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Ingenuity is a fitting name for a 
robot
 High school student Vaneeza Rupani of 
Northport, Alabama, originally submitted 
the name Ingenuity for the Mars 2020 rover, 
before it was named Perseverance.
 NASA officials recognized the submission as 
a terrific name for the helicopter, given how 
much creative thinking the team employed 
to get the mission off the ground. 
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Ingenuity has already 
demonstrated feats of 
engineering
 In careful steps from 2014 to 2019, 
engineers at JPL demonstrated that it was 
possible to build an aircraft that was 
lightweight, able to generate enough lift in 
Mars' thin atmosphere, and capable of 
surviving in a Mars-like environment.
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The Ingenuity team
 Given the firsts Ingenuity is trying to 
accomplish, the team has a long list of 
milestones they'll need to pass before the 
helicopter can take off and land in the spring 
of 2021. 
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Milestones
 Surviving the launch from Cape Canaveral, the 
cruise to Mars, and landing on the Red Planet
 Safely deploying to the surface from 
Perseverance's belly 
 Autonomously keeping warm through the 
intensely cold Martian nights
 Autonomously charging itself with its solar 
panel
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Future Mars exploration 
 Ingenuity is intended to demonstrate 
technologies needed for flying in the 
Martian atmosphere. 
 If successful, these technologies could 
enable other advanced robotic flying 
vehicles that might be included in future 
robotic and human missions to Mars. 
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Source: www.nasa.gov