On August 7, NASA’s Mars helicopter, called Ingenuity, received the first charge of its batteries from the power supply of the Perseverance Rover, according to a statement by NASA last August 13. This was the first time that the helicopter was charged in space, and it was a success.
"This was a big milestone, as it was our first opportunity to turn on Ingenuity and give its electronics a 'test drive' since we launched on July 30," Tim Canham, the operations lead for Mars Helicopter at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, said in the statement. "Since everything went by the book, we'll perform the same activity about every two weeks to maintain an acceptable state of charge."
Charging the batteries took eight hours, during which NASA tested and analyzed their performance. The batteries were charged only to 35% of their maximum level, in order to maintain optimal battery health, according to the statement.
The Perseverance rover is scheduled to land on the Red Planet on February 18, 2021. Some time after that, the Mars helicopter will detach itself from the rover, and take test flights. If successful…
...Ingenuity will prove that robotic flight is possible on Mars, opening the door for extensive aerial exploration on future missions.
(Image Credit: NASA/ Space.com)