What We Learned from Flying a Helicopter on Mars
The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter made history – not only as the first aircraft to perform powered, controlled flight on another world – but also for exceeding expectations, pushing the limits, and setting the stage for future NASA aerial exploration of other worlds.
Built as a technology demonstration designed to perform up to five experimental test flights over 30 days, Ingenuity performed flight operations from the Martian surface for almost three years. The helicopter ended its mission on Jan. 25, 2024, after sustaining damage to its rotor blades during its 72nd flight.
So, what did we learn from this small but mighty helicopter?
We can fly rotorcraft in the thin atmosphere of other planets.
Ingenuity proved that powered, controlled flight is possible on other worlds when it took to the Martian skies for the first time on April 19, 2021.
Flying on planets like Mars is no easy feat: The Red Planet has a significantly lower gravity – one-third that of Earth’s – and an extremely thin atmosphere, with only 1% the pressure at the surface compared to our planet. This means there are relatively few air molecules with which Ingenuity’s two 4-foot-wide (1.2-meter-wide) rotor blades can interact to achieve flight.
Ingenuity performed several flights dedicated to understanding key aerodynamic effects and how they interact with the structure and control system of the helicopter, providing us with a treasure-trove of data on how aircraft fly in the Martian atmosphere.
Now, we can use this knowledge to directly improve performance and reduce risk on future planetary aerial vehicles.
Creative solutions and “ingenuity” kept the helicopter flying longer than expected.
Over an extended mission that lasted for almost 1,000 Martian days (more than 33 times longer than originally planned), Ingenuity was upgraded with the ability to autonomously choose landing sites in treacherous terrain, dealt with a dead sensor, dusted itself off after dust storms, operated from 48 different airfields, performed three emergency landings, and survived a frigid Martian winter.
Fun fact: To keep costs low, the helicopter contained many off-the-shelf-commercial parts from the smartphone industry - parts that had never been tested in deep space. Those parts also surpassed expectations, proving durable throughout Ingenuity’s extended mission, and can inform future budget-conscious hardware solutions.
There is value in adding an aerial dimension to interplanetary surface missions.
Ingenuity traveled to Mars on the belly of the Perseverance rover, which served as the communications relay for Ingenuity and, therefore, was its constant companion. The helicopter also proved itself a helpful scout to the rover.
After its initial five flights in 2021, Ingenuity transitioned to an “operations demonstration,” serving as Perseverance’s eyes in the sky as it scouted science targets, potential rover routes, and inaccessible features, while also capturing stereo images for digital elevation maps.
Airborne assets like Ingenuity unlock a new dimension of exploration on Mars that we did not yet have – providing more pixels per meter of resolution for imaging than an orbiter and exploring locations a rover cannot reach.
Tech demos can pay off big time.
Ingenuity was flown as a technology demonstration payload on the Mars 2020 mission, and was a high risk, high reward, low-cost endeavor that paid off big. The data collected by the helicopter will be analyzed for years to come and will benefit future Mars and other planetary missions.
Just as the Sojourner rover led to the MER-class (Spirit and Opportunity) rovers, and the MSL-class (Curiosity and Perseverance) rovers, the team believes Ingenuity’s success will lead to future fleets of aircraft at Mars.
In general, NASA’s Technology Demonstration Missions test and advance new technologies, and then transition those capabilities to NASA missions, industry, and other government agencies. Chosen technologies are thoroughly ground- and flight-tested in relevant operating environments — reducing risks to future flight missions, gaining operational heritage and continuing NASA’s long history as a technological leader.
You can fall in love with robots on another planet.
Following in the tracks of beloved Martian rovers, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter built up a worldwide fanbase. The Ingenuity team and public awaited every single flight with anticipation, awe, humor, and hope.
Check out #ThanksIngenuity on social media to see what’s been said about the helicopter’s accomplishments.
Learn more about Ingenuity’s accomplishments here. And make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!
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Dungeon Meshi Episode 12 is all about hair. (and lesbians of course)
With that in mind, I really can't understand why they wouldn't adapt this panel of Marcille letting down her hair in preparation for the resurrection ritual.
It marks the scene transition and shows Marcille in a whole new light. Exhausted and blood-stained, but determined, there's a newfound darkness in her eyes. And I can just imagine how poignant it could have been if they gave it the same level of attention they did to the rest of the scene.
On the other hand, key animator Ichigo Kanno knocks it out of the park with this resurrection sequence, in which her hair dominates the composition in a way it didn't in the manga!
I love the way Kanno uses the characters hair to convey their energy and emotions. He did it with Senshi last episode with this crazy dynamic cut, but it fits even better thematically here.
In these three cuts, Marcille's hair takes on a life of its own and dominates the composition.
It flows across the screen like a raging river in this 12-frame loop,
and grows more and more supernatural in appearance as it twist and flaps up into the air in this 9-frame loop, forming these crazy unnatural shapes that almost look more like flames than strands of hair.
And when it finally settles down, it forms long ribbons that float downward starting at the scalp and eventually flowing away at the ends like water draining from a basin.
Marcille's hair really becomes a living embodiment of her own spirit and magical energy.
And by the time the spell is over, it's as if it's grown to an almost unnatural length, stretched to its limits, and when she collapses on the ground, it looks tangled, jagged, and frayed at the ends, completely spent.
And this is all without even getting into what was obviously the best shot of the episode.
I get into that and the entire rest of the episode in this full breakdown video, from which this post is an excerpt! Blah blah blah, I really can't be bothered to think of a creative way to say this today, just go watch it.
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Propaganda
Sumiko Mizukubo (Dragnet Girl)— isn't she cute???
Claudette Colbert (It Happened One Night)—She's super sexy but also the perfect screwball. Laugh through the horniness
This is round 2 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.
[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]
Sumiko Mizukubo:
Claudette Colbert propaganda:
quintessential 30s look, expert of the thin brow and dark lip combo. she's. So Hot
I think her eyebrows are fun!
Known for her chic manner, she's the only actress to date to star in three films nominated for Best Motion Picture in the same year!
The hitchhiking scene from "It Happened One Night":
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