Ingenuity’s death is just the beginning. China and NASA will send helicopters of all types to Mars

Ingenuity’s launch was so successful that China and NASA have redesigned future missions to include helicopters.

He Helicopter of Ingenuity This marked a “before” and “after” in the exploration of other planets. Designed for five test flights, no one could have imagined that it would make 72 before crashing on its final landing on Martian soil.

The amazing thing is that it continues to charge its batteries and communicate with the Perseverance rover, even though its mission has ended. Ingenuity’s career since its first flight in 2021 has been so successful that China and NASA decide to redesign future missions include new helicopters.

Chinese ingenuity Tianwen 3

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) is developing a helicopter similar to Ingenuity for collect samples from Mars during the Tianwen 3 mission, planned for 2030.

The plan is to launch two Long March 5 rockets: one with an orbital return module and the other with a descent and ascent module. The lander will pick up 500 grams of rocks with its robotic arm and place them on board the ascent module, which will dock with the return module in Mars orbit to bring them back to Earth.

Encouraged by Ingenuity’s success, Chinese engineers announced that the mission would also include a NASA-like helicopter to collect a backup sample, although the drone may ultimately only be used to identify interesting rocks rather than collect them.

Tianwen 3 plans land in the northern hemisphere of Marswhich has a denser atmosphere and soil age of 3.5 billion years, making it ideal for astrobiological research.

If the samples reach Earth in 2031, as China expects, they will be ahead of the samples planned by NASA and the European Space Agency for 2033.

Samples of recovery helicopters

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which built the Ingenuity helicopter, is now developing two more powerful models for a Mars sample return mission.

A joint mission between NASA and ESA that plans deliver rocks collected by the Perseverance rover to Earthwas modified to include two helicopters after testing the feasibility of flights to Mars.

Although they’re still years away from heading to Mars, JPL is already testing a twin-rotor system for new helicopters that will have longer, stronger blades than those used on the Ingenuity helicopter.

Its carbon fiber blades, spinning at 3,500 rpm, were tested at increasing speeds and angles and were able to reach speeds close to the sound barrier: Mach 0.95.

As with the Chinese mission, the helicopters will serve as a backup plan in case Perseverance goes down and is unable to collect samples.

Powerful Mars science helicopter

Unlike the previous ones, which are complementary to their main missions, NASA’s Mars Science Helicopter will be a science mission in itself. It will weigh 30 kg (15 times more than Ingenuity) and there will be several tools: infrared camera, weather station and neutron spectrometer.

This powerful hexacopter will explore the harsh regions of Mars and its water ice deposits, places difficult to reach by rovers. An alternative coaxial rotor design has also been proposed.

A fixed wing aircraft named MAGGIE.

The Mars Aerial and Ground Intelligent Explorer, better known as MAGGIE, is a NASA-funded concept from Coflow Jet. This Vertical take-off and landing aircraft It is so efficient that it can fly 179 km on a single charge, so it can be used in atmospheric and geophysical research.

It’s a bold concept that would likely have remained in a drawer if not for Ingenuity’s success. Thanks to its resilience, the Mars helicopter helped spread enthusiasm for self-propelled exploration of other planets from the air.

Images | NASA, CNSA

In Hatak | The Ingenuity helicopter broke down on Mars after 72 flights. The photo shows damage to one of its blades.