Latest video of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter kicking up dust and taking off for Flight #47. Ingenuity is well beyond its warranty at this point. The video was captured by the Mastcam-Z imager aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover on March 9, 2023.MattC1977 t1_jdrwwvw wrote
So how does this helicopter differ than a similar helicopter that would be used in Earth? With Mars’ thinner atmosphere I would imagine that some alterations would need to be made to sustain lift.
StrangeTangerine1525 t1_jds5v9p wrote
A: The blades have to spin around 2500 rpm in order for it lift off. B: the blades are very wide for a 1.8 kg drone, in order to increase lift. Bonus fact: In 2027 NASA is sending a 400 kg quadcopter to Saturn's Moon Titan, in order to study prebiotic chemistry and the worlds potential habitability. Titan is perhaps the best world for powered flight, with its comparatively low gravity (1/7th of Earth) and dense atmosphere (4x denser than Earth's).
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