Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Drone

The Perseverance Mars rover has the Ingenuity Mars helicopter drone. This solar-powered helicopter drone has a mass of 1.8 kg (4.0 lb). Ingenuity has had its third flight. It is expected to fly up to five times during its 30-day test campaign scheduled early in the rover’s mission. It will fly at altitudes ranging from 3–5 m (10–16 ft) above the ground for up to 90 seconds each. Ingenuity, which can travel up to 50 meter (160 ft) downrange and then back to the starting area. It communicates directly with the Perseverance rover after each landing.

The Perseverance rover is the size of a small car.

Length 2.9 meters (9 ft 6 in)
Diameter 2.7 meters (8 ft 10 in)
Height 2.2 meters (7 ft 3 in)
Launch mass 1,025 kg (2,260 lb)
Power 110 W (0.15 hp)

Commercial and enterprise drones have sizes typically of about 0.7 kg to 5 kilograms.

Drone for agriculture and delivery are usually larger and go from 10 kilograms and larger.

SOURCES- NASA, Wikipedia, DJI, PC Mag
Written By Brian Wang, Nextbigfuture.com

3 thoughts on “Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Drone”

  1. It is expected to fly up to five times during its 30-day test campaign scheduled early in the rover’s mission.

    Given the ratio of planned:achieved for the previous Mars Rover missions, this means it'll probably clock up 13 734 flights. A record only exceeded by some of the B52s.

  2. Wow, that solar panel is already looking pretty dusty. That's going to reduce the frequency of flights.

  3. I would love to have a drone but there is nowhere anywhere near me where I could use it without people assuming I’m a pervert trying to leer at women or a robber looking to scope out targets.

    Shame that I can’t get to Mars.

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