The new Mars rover, which NASA recently called ‘Perseverance’, continues the testing process at the space agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Mars helicopter, which is an important part of the last preparations of Perseverance equipment, was also tested for the last time in the world. The body of the helicopter, which weighs about 1.8 kilograms, is slightly larger than a baseball ball. The wings of the helicopter rotating about 3,000 times a minute can rotate about ten times faster than their counterparts on land. The helicopter will play a major role in the discovery of Mars:
NASA’s Mars helicopter will be the first object to fly on another planet. The solar-powered double-rotor spacecraft will remain connected to the rover after landing on the Red Planet. At this point, the team that manages the mission will begin testing flights when they find an acceptable area to place the spacecraft. The helicopter, which will perform a total of 5 different flights in 30 days, will rise up to 3 meters in its first flight and will stay in the air for about 30 seconds. Commenting on the subject, NASA official Thomas Zurbuchen said, “The ability to clearly see what is beyond the next hill is very important for future discoveries”. Signs of life on Mars will be sought: As part of the pre-launch test, the spacecraft was placed inside an airlock and its rotors were rotated up to about 50 times per minute. The test proved that the helicopter was working as expected. However, first of all, the helicopter needs to be launched to Mars without error. For this, the helicopter will be launched with the Atlas V rocket in July, depending on the Perseverance Mars traveler. When the duo’s journey to Mars begins, the helicopter acts as a scout, while Perseverance will look for signs of life on the planet. The traveling vehicle will also collect samples to help scientists characterize the climate and geology of the planet. NASA is working with ESA to develop a plan on how best to return specimens collected from Mars to Earth. At this point, even though ESA, which is working with the Russian Federal Space Agency, postponed its plans to 2022 due to the coronavirus, NASA does not intend to make any delay in the Perseverance Mars mission. If everything goes as planned, the rover and helicopter will reach Mars in February 2021.
