The Mars 2020 mission will have one feature that has never been seen before: a prototype helicopter that will fly through the thin Martian atmosphere.
The ‘Ingenuity’ Mars Helicopter is an experimental flight test of new technology. Future Mars missions could enlist second-generation helicopters to add an aerial dimension to their explorations. They could act as scouts for human crews, carry small payloads or investigate cliffs, caves, deep craters and other unvisited or difficult-to-reach destinations. But before any of that happens, a test vehicle has to prove it’s possible.
The extra-terrestrial helicopter will be contained inside a Mars rover (‘Perseverance’) for the majority of the trip. However, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has recently revealed how this innovative helicopter will be deployed.
“On a Mars rover mission, the addition of even one new washer is usually worthy of debate,” said Chris Salvo, the helicopter interface lead of the Mars 2020 mission at JPL. “The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is a large, fragile, unique assemblage of hardware that is dissimilar to anything NASA has ever accommodated on a planetary mission.”
Although the helicopter will travel 500 million kilometres from Earth to the red planet, the final 15cm before it is deployed will be the most challenging.
The 2kg helicopter will be unloaded into a suitable 10x10m area on the Martian surface. Perseverance will then drop the Mars Helicopter Delivery System’s graphite composite debris shield that protected the helicopter during landing. Then it will drive into the centre of the chosen space.
The deployment process begins with the release of a locking mechanism that keeps the helicopter in place. Then a cable-cutting pyrotechnic device fires, allowing a spring-loaded arm that holds the helicopter to begin rotating Ingenuity out of its horizontal position. Along the way, a small electric motor will pull the arm until it latches, bringing the helicopter body completely vertical with two of its spring-loaded landing legs deployed. Another pyrotechnic fires, releasing the other legs.
If all goes well, mission controllers will command the delivery system to release, and Ingenuity will cover those last 15cm. Once a good drop is confirmed, Perseverance will be commanded to drive away so the helicopter can begin recharging its batteries with its solar panel. At that point, the 30-sol clock on Ingenuity’s flight test program begins.
The Mars 2020 mission is due to launch on 22 July 2020 and land on 18 February 2021.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
