Mars Helicopter Sol 345– Navigation Camera: Navigation video camera image captured just as Ingenuity removed for Flight 19, showing built up sand flying off of among Ingenuitys feet. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Ingenuity team is starting preparations for Flight 20!
Flight 19 was effectively finished on February 7, 2022, at 20:21 PST (Sol 345 of the Perseverance objective, 12:00 LMST Local Mean Solar Time), and put Ingenuity securely within the designated landing ellipse simply above the eastern ridge of the “South Séítah” basin.
Flight 19 was a tip of the obstacles and unpredictability of the Martian environment. As gone over in our previous upgrade, Flight 19 was postponed by an unanticipated dust storm that triggered a substantial drop in air density and solar variety output. Ingenuity continued to awaken and interact with Perseverance throughout the storm and returned to its pre-storm power generation levels after the sky cleared. The dust storm did, however, leave the Ingenuity group with two extra challenges to handle: a dirty navigation cam window and dust in the swashplate assemblies.
Debris on the navigation video camera window is troublesome due to the fact that Ingenuitys visual navigation software may puzzle the debris with the actual ground functions that it attempts to track during flight, which can trigger navigation mistakes. Resourcefulnesss software supplies a tool for dealing with this problem: The team can supply an upgraded image mask file that tells the visual navigation software to overlook specific regions of the image.
The dust storm also transferred dust and sand in Ingenuitys swashplate assemblies. On Mars as well as on Earth, a helicopters swashplates are extremely important due to the fact that they control the pitch (angle from horizontal) of the rotor blades, which is essential for stable and controlled flight. Ingenuitys swashplate issue was first discovered when the rotorcraft reported a failure during its first automated swashplate actuator self-test considering that the dust storm on January 28, 2022 (Sol 335 of the Perseverance mission).
Experiments finished during Ingenuitys development had revealed that the swashplate assemblies must be able to clear out dust and sand with duplicated actuation. A brand-new experiment was carried out previously this month, which likewise validated the swashplates self-cleaning capability. The group tested this method by performing a repeat self-test routine, or “servo wiggle,” on Sol 340. The data from that activity revealed a considerable enhancement– a decrease in servo loading, so the group followed it up with seven back-to-back servo wiggles on Sol 341. Incredibly, by the end of that activity, Ingenuitys servo loads appeared almost similar to small loads seen prior to the dust storm. Resourcefulness was cleared for re-attempting Flight 19, which it completed with healthy actuator efficiency throughout. All in all, Flight 19 was stuffed with challenges, but Ingenuity demonstrated its resilience when again, shaking off the dust and getting itself out of the South Séítah basin!
The group is now getting ready for Flight 20, which will continue Ingenuitys march together with Perseverance back to Perseverances landing place– the Octavia E. Butler Landing Site. From there, the 2 robotic partners will start taking a trip to the Jezero Crater river delta. Although they are both headed to the very same meeting perseverance, ingenuity and point will take different paths to get to the river delta: Perseverance will drive around Séítah, and Ingenuity will take a faster way, flying northwest across Séítah. Flight 20 will take Ingenuity to a shallow depression just southwest of its original airfield, Wright Brothers Field. This location will act as the beginning point for Ingenuitys journey across Séítah. Throughout Flight 20, Ingenuity is planned to pass through 1,280 feet (390 meters), at an elevation of 32.8 feet (10 meters) and a maximum ground speed of 10.1 miles per hour (4.5 meters per second). This flight will take location no earlier than February 25. Stay tuned!
Composed by Jaakko Karras, Ingenuity Chief Engineer at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Particles on the navigation cam window is bothersome due to the fact that Ingenuitys visual navigation software may confuse the debris with the actual ground features that it tries to track throughout flight, which can cause navigation errors. All in all, Flight 19 was filled with obstacles, however Ingenuity showed its resilience when again, shaking off the dust and getting itself out of the South Séítah basin!
The team is now preparing for Flight 20, which will continue Ingenuitys march along with Perseverance back to Perseverances landing place– the Octavia E. Butler Landing Site. They are both headed to the exact same conference ingenuity, determination and point will take various paths to get to the river delta: Perseverance will drive around Séítah, and Ingenuity will take a shortcut, flying northwest across Séítah. Flight 20 will take Ingenuity to a shallow anxiety simply southwest of its initial airfield, Wright Brothers Field.