Ingenuity completes 49th flight on Mars
Click for interactive map.
The Ingenuity team today posted the official flight totals for the Mars helicopter’s 49th flight, which took place yesterday.
The helicopter flew 925 feet for 143 seconds, or two minutes and twenty-three seconds. The plan had been to fly 894 feet for 135 seconds, but has been happening consistently for the past dozen or so flights, the helicopter spent a little more time in the air and traveled a little farther.
As for altitude, it apparently did exactly as planned, averaging about 40 feet in height until the end of the mission, when Ingenuity went straight up another twelve feet to get a wider view of its landing area.
The map to the right shows the context. The green dot marks Ingenuity’s location at the start of the flight. The green line indicates my approximate estimate of its flight path and landing area, which the engineering team has not yet posted. The white dots and line mark Perseverance’s path, with its present location at the area dubbed Tenby where it has obtained its first core sample from the top of the delta.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
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4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
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You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Click for interactive map.
The Ingenuity team today posted the official flight totals for the Mars helicopter’s 49th flight, which took place yesterday.
The helicopter flew 925 feet for 143 seconds, or two minutes and twenty-three seconds. The plan had been to fly 894 feet for 135 seconds, but has been happening consistently for the past dozen or so flights, the helicopter spent a little more time in the air and traveled a little farther.
As for altitude, it apparently did exactly as planned, averaging about 40 feet in height until the end of the mission, when Ingenuity went straight up another twelve feet to get a wider view of its landing area.
The map to the right shows the context. The green dot marks Ingenuity’s location at the start of the flight. The green line indicates my approximate estimate of its flight path and landing area, which the engineering team has not yet posted. The white dots and line mark Perseverance’s path, with its present location at the area dubbed Tenby where it has obtained its first core sample from the top of the delta.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
While Ingenuity currently holds all of the Martian aviation records, I would like to see the team find out just how high they can go. The engineers have an idea, but talkin’ ain’t doin’. Gun it, and run it.