NASA Expands Mars Helicopter Mission After Successful Test Flights

American space agency NASA says it has expanded its Mars helicopter mission after the experimental aircraft successfully completed several test flights.

The helicopter, named Ingenuity¹, made history last month by becoming the first aircraft to perform a powered, controlled flight on another planet.

Mission controllers say the helicopter has performed above expectations in all four of its test flights so far. While many test flights were carried out on Earth, Ingenuity was launched to demonstrate that a small helicopter could actually fly on Mars.

During its fourth flight on April 30, NASA said Ingenuity reached a height of about 5 meters and beat the aircraft's speed and distance records from earlier flights.

Now that the mission has successfully met its first goals, NASA says it expanded the project to an "operational demonstration²." This new part of the mission is expected to test Ingenuity's ability to explore different parts of the planet from the air.

In its past flights, Ingenuity has been taking off and landing near NASA's Perseverance³ explorer, or rover. The rover is on its own mission to search for signs of ancient microbial life on Mars. It was carrying Ingenuity when it landed at the planet's Jezero Crater⁴ in February.

NASA's first stated goals with Ingenuity were to complete a series of flights to see how high and how far the aircraft could progress in each test. The demonstration flights were expected to end in early May.

Testing limits

In the new tests, controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California aim to have Ingenuity travel farther and operate more independently from Perseverance.

Project manager MiMi Aung said in its fifth flight, which currently has no set date, Ingenuity will move to a new "airfield⁵" as engineers attempt to press the helicopter beyond its design limits. The new tests should give NASA a more detailed⁶ picture of how Ingenuity's equipment operates in different conditions. The flights could also be the basis for designing future aircraft to perform search and collection missions on Mars or other planets.

Ingenuity is also expected to carry out activities to support Perseverance's ongoing⁷ mission. NASA says the helicopter can fly over nearby areas to observe science targets or help map out travel paths for the rover. Ingenuity can also capture images to be used for future Mars mapping operations.

Such flights by Ingenuity, while not planned in the beginning, are now "a bonus and not a requirement for Perseverance to complete its science mission," a NASA statement said.

The space agency plans at least three operational test flights in May and the helicopter mission could go even longer if all goes well. "Ingenuity loves Mars," Aung recently told reporters about the helicopter's mission. "It takes off and I almost feel the freedom that it feels," she said.

NASA officials say that even though Ingenuity was designed to operate on Mars for 30 days, it can probably survive the freezing Martian nights for at least another few months.

The helicopter also has to work harder on Mars, where the atmosphere is much thinner. Engineers have said Ingenuity's blades have to spin five times faster than on Earth to successfully fly.

"We really do expect some finite life," Aung said, adding, "so it will be a race between how long these parts surprise us in surviving."

Words in This Story

mission – n. an important project or trip, especially involving space travel

bonus – n. an extra thing added to something you were expecting

blade – n. an arm of a propeller⁸ that spins to lift an aircraft off the ground

finite – adj. having a limit or end

1 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。

2 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

3 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

4 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

5 airfield   

n.飞机场

参考例句：

• The foreign guests were motored from the airfield to the hotel.用车把外宾从机场送到旅馆。
• The airfield was seized by enemy troops.机场被敌军占领。

6 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

7 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

8 propeller   

n.螺旋桨，推进器

参考例句：

• The propeller started to spin around.螺旋桨开始飞快地旋转起来。
• A rope jammed the boat's propeller.一根绳子卡住了船的螺旋桨。