One of NASA’s biggest achievements is the successor of its state-of-the art Ingenuity helicopter, which roamed over the surface of Mars for more than three years after landing there alongside the Perseverance Rover in 2020. A computer rendering, produced in collaboration between the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California and the Ames Research Center, shows a drone-like vehicle about the size of an SUV with six rotors. Notably, each rotor has six blades, which are smaller than those on Ingenuity but theoretically could provide even more lift.
The “Mars Chopper,” as NASA is calling it, appears bulkier compared to its predecessor and has a greater payload capacity to carry scientific instruments such as imaging and analysis kits. The new-age drone will be able to carry five kilograms over a distance of up to three kilometers. This new model is expected to be a real game-changer for exploration, not only of Mars but of any alien worlds with a solid surface and an atmosphere that can support flight.
“Scientists could use Chopper to study large swaths of terrain in detail, quickly – including areas where rovers cannot safely travel,” NASA stated.
Despite its robust and much-improved designs, the Mars Chopper will have a tough mountain to climb. Ingenuity, which weighed 1.8 kilograms courtesy of its two counter-rotating blades, was designed to perform up to five experimental test flights over 30 days. However, it managed to operate for almost three years, performing 72 flights and flying 30 times farther than planned.
Why did Ingenuity crash?
Last month, NASA also revealed why Ingenuity crashed on the Martian surface after a long stay. As per the engineers from JPL and AeroVironment, the failure of Ingenuity’s navigation system to provide accurate data “during the flight likely caused a chain of events that ended the mission.”
Ingenuity’s navigation system was designed to track visual features on the Martian surface using a camera over well-textured (pebbly) but flat terrain. During the fateful flight, Ingenuity was in a region of Jezero Crater filled with steep, relatively featureless sand ripples. The topography confused the helicopter and resulted in a hard impact, causing Ingenuity to pitch and roll.
Despite being grounded, Ingenuity still beams weather and avionics test data to Perseverance about once a week. NASA believes the weather information may help future explorers of the Red Planet.
