Ingenuity snaps picture of Perseverance during 54th flight
Click for original image.
During Ingenuity’s 54th flight, a short vertical hop sixteen feet up and down that lasted only 25 seconds, the helicopter’s color camera managed to get a picture of the rover Perseverance, only about 200 feet away to the north.
That picture, cropped and enhanced to post here, is to the right. It shows Perseverance just inside the picture’s upper edge. Its graininess illustrates in a sense the engineering test nature of Ingenuity. It was never expected to last this long and to take actual scouting or science imagery. It was supposed to complete a 30 day program of a handful of test flights, proving it was possible to fly in Mars’ very thin atmosphere (1/1000th that of Earth). Instead, it has lasted years, and completed 54 flights, keeping ahead of Perseverance and providing the rover team scouting images of the ground they wish to travel.
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In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the 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. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
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.
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Click for original image.
During Ingenuity’s 54th flight, a short vertical hop sixteen feet up and down that lasted only 25 seconds, the helicopter’s color camera managed to get a picture of the rover Perseverance, only about 200 feet away to the north.
That picture, cropped and enhanced to post here, is to the right. It shows Perseverance just inside the picture’s upper edge. Its graininess illustrates in a sense the engineering test nature of Ingenuity. It was never expected to last this long and to take actual scouting or science imagery. It was supposed to complete a 30 day program of a handful of test flights, proving it was possible to fly in Mars’ very thin atmosphere (1/1000th that of Earth). Instead, it has lasted years, and completed 54 flights, keeping ahead of Perseverance and providing the rover team scouting images of the ground they wish to travel.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the 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. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
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.
I was skeptical that helicopter could function in 7 mbar of air pressure, despite the low gravity.
I am so pleased to be wrong, this opens a whole new avenue of exploration.
Picture a helium balloon with solar panel skin, and a light Communication / fisheye cameras package the size of a cell phone. Cylinders of liquid helium to compensate for losses and act as ballast that can be dropped for more lift.
Add a compressor to deflate/store the helium to carefully drop/land the balloon on legs. (The cold of night may drop it anyway)
Add a magnetic charging cable that can be dropped to charge and hold a helicopter drone which can fly off for closer observations then return for a quick recharge.
One launch can deliver dozens of these low altitude observation platforms drifting on the wind exploring the surface at a higher rate. The helicopter drone can swivel to push the balloon in the desired direction. Miles of exploration can be done every day with a close-up view from the sides… all sides.
Someday the colony will utilize such high-tech low impact cheap transportation until the infrastructure can support better.