May 11, 2021 Ingenuity

The Liberty Gazette

May 11, 2021

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: Have you been following the reports from Mars? It’s almost like living in 1903 with exciting reports of “first flight”. The only difference is, now it is our (NASA’s) mission to prove flight is possible on another planet. 

Seven months after leaving Earth, Ingenuity, NASA’s four-pound helicopter drone strapped onto the Perseverance rover, landed on Mars. And what’s the big deal about a drone hovering around Mars? Plenty. This ain’t your kid’s playground drone. These drones are changing how scientists explore planets. Cutting loose from the ground-bound land rovers will enable scientists to study locations that rovers cannot reach, like over cliffs and hills and fields of large rocks that would stop a rover. 

From its first hover and rotation, proving not just flight, but controlled flight, to its fourth flight at the end of April, when Ingenuity traveled 872 feet horizontally and 16 feet vertically, for two minutes, we now know extraterrestrial flight is possible. Beyond Mars, NASA plans to launch Dragonfly, another drone helicopter with an amazing mission – a trip to Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, in 2026 or 2027. With each new accomplishment comes learning, and the knowledge gained from Mars will help the engineers who are building Dragonfly.

The Earth’s atmosphere is considerably different from that around Mars, and from Titan’s. Mars’ atmosphere is just one percent that of Earth’s. But Titan’s atmosphere is about 60% thicker than ours. Consider that in order to fly, an aircraft (whether it’s a drone or a Boeing 787) needs to generate lift. This is accomplished mechanically either by propellers or jet propulsion or some combination. Air moves around an airplane’s wings, or around a helicopter’s rotors, to produce this lift. The amount of lift you get depends on the density of the air and how fast it moves over the wings or rotors. Denser air creates more lift at a given airspeed than less dense air, so in a less dense atmosphere, like Mars, more effort is required to create lift. Therefore, Ingenuity’s rotor blades are very long compared to its mass and spin much faster than they would have to on Earth. 

Right now, Ingenuity is helping to find the best locations for Perseverance to drive around on Mars and find soil samples. They’re looking for signs of fossil life in a dried-up river delta. 

Meanwhile, on Earth, the FAA is updating aviation navigation charts, adding more little magenta rocket icons to the growing number of space launch areas as more private businesses enter the industry to exit the atmosphere. 

While subscribing to NASA’s news can keep you up to date, my favorite avenue for insight is the app Clubhouse, where I can hear the very engineers who built Ingenuity and are building Dragonfly, and who are actively working the Mars project. I tap to listen live as they talk enthusiastically about exploring Mars, the challenges involved in bringing back samples, and their ideas about Titan. It’s like sitting in the lunchroom at NASA and getting in on all the good stuff.

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