Free Astronomy Magazine May-June 2021

7 MAY-JUNE 2021 ASTRO PUBLISHING N ASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter achieves powered, con- trolled flight for the first time on another planet, hovering for several sec- onds before touching back down on April 19, 2021. The image was taken by the left Naviga- tion Camera, or Navcam, aboard the agency’s Per- severance Mars rover from a distance of 210 feet (64 meters). [NASA/JPL-Caltech] atmospheric pressure less than 1% that on Earth and to survive temperatures as low as -130°F (-90°C). The Perseverance landing and the Mars 2020 Mis- sion were covered in de- tail in the March-April issue of this magazine. We mentioned then that an aerial vehicle on Mars was a solu- tion to many issues that have com- plicated our exploration of the red planet, providing the same solution on Mars as has been implemented here on Earth for centuries. The planning of Martian rover jour- neys has occurred either by humans receiving data about the local envi- ronment and programming in the next set of driving coordinates, or by the rovers having the ability to ana- lyze and adjust headings and dis- tances near-autonomously. In both cases, this planning can only be in- formed by as far as the onboard cam- eras could see. The combi- nation of slow speed, need for planning the path for- ward from a limited visual range, and the wealth of measurement and collec- tion being performed all were contributing reasons why the Opportunity rover, over 14 years of operation, only traveled 28 miles (45 km) from its landing site. M embers of NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter team in the Space Flight Operations Facility at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory react to data showing that the helicop- ter completed its first flight on April 19, 2021. [NASA/JPL-Caltech]