Mars Helicopter Ingenuity Will Keep Flying Until September

Although the Ingenuity helicopter has survived every challenge that Mars has thrown at it so far, the journey hasn’t been easy. One big problem came with seasonal changes on the planet. Like Earth, Mars has seasons, and with the changes in seasons come changes in the weather. One particular issue for Ingenuity was dealing with changes in air density. The atmosphere on Mars is extremely thin, at around 1% of the density of the atmosphere on Earth. That makes it harder for a helicopter to operate, as it stays aloft by using its rotors to move air. When that air is thin, it’s harder to stay off the ground. It gets some help from Mars’ lower gravity, meaning the forces pulling the helicopter down to the ground aren’t as strong as they would be on Earth. But in September 2021, Mars’ changing atmosphere meant the air density became even lower than it was before, dropping from around 1.2% – 1.5% of Earth’s atmospheric density to just 1% (via NASA).

To address this issue, the helicopter had to spin its rotors faster than ever before, and faster even than had been tested on Earth. The high-speed rotor tests were a success, however, and Ingenuity was able to continue flying even with the lower air density.

Another challenge hit the helicopter in the form of a dust storm which blew through the Jezero area in December 2021, covering parts of the helicopter’s hardware in dust. But Ingenuity was able to shake off that dust by performing a maneuver called a “servo wiggle” which it performed several times to clear its hardware and keep flying (via NASA).