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What is NASA hoping to learn from this drone that they couldn't get from the rover? Is the point just to test if this type of flight is possible on Mars, or is

What is NASA hoping to learn from this drone that they couldn't get from the rover? Is the point just to test if this type of flight is possible on Mars, or is the rover collecting some extra observations?

justapassenger 5y ago
It’s technology demonstration. It’s not really used for science, other than learning how to fly there.
snypher 5y ago
It's main task is as a technology demonstration, after it's time or power budget is expended the rover will continue with it's scientific mission.
1970-01-01 5y ago
A flight envelope. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_envelope https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_envelope
ceejayoz 5y ago
This one's a technology demo. Future ones might be able to peek over a rock/ridge for planning purposes or access an inaccessible cliff or small crater that's dangerous to rove into.
- dylan604 5y ago
  Is the data collected by MRO not useful for this as well? Sure, the resolution would be increased, so I guess that would have some benefits. I tend to think of the rover and drone like one of those strategy games where you have to send out scouts to "discover" where to send the rest of the troops, and then plan out how many "moves" to do it in. But then I remember we have the MRO that has pretty much scouted the entire planet. It just takes us a lot of "moves" to get our troops there.
  - LunarRover 5y ago
    MRO has a max resolvable resolution of 1 meter - incredibly useful for planning, but not enough to keep a rover safe from harm, let alone do all possible science. The max resolution from a low-altitude helicopter is probably two-three orders of magnitude more detailed
    - dylan604 5y ago
      The rover itself also has high resolution cameras, so it should be able to detect things hazardous/interesting. The drone might be useful to know if it is worth climbing over a dune or whatever, but I still think MRO data would be useful for mission control to plot routes. So maybe the drone+rover would be much more capable as an autonomous pair requiring less input from mission control?
KuiN 5y ago
As other have said, it's a tech demo. Partly just to show we can do powered flight on other celestial bodies, part of it is to test how well the off-the-shelf parts in Ingenuity work in that environment. Rotorcraft require more computing power than is available from typical rad-hardened processors. Ingenuity is using a Snapdragon mobile phone chip, will be interesting to see how long it survives up there. NASA have plans to use rotorcraft in many future missions, including the Dragonfly which will fly around Titan[0]. Launches in 2027. [0] https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasas-dragonfly-will-fly-around-titan-looking-for-origins-signs-of-life https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasas-dragonfly-will-fly-...
- Denvercoder9 5y ago
  > Quadcopters require more computing power than is available from typical rad-hardened processors. Ingenuity isn't a quadcopter though, it has two blades that counter-rotate around the same axis.
  - lsaferite 5y ago
    > two blades that counter-rotate around the same axis Which would make it a coaxial helicopter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaxial_rotors https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaxial_rotors
- SECProto 5y ago
  In addition to the (very valid!) tech demo aspects of this, there's also the huge public interest/public relations aspect. I've seen more articles and comments on Ingenuity than on any other part of this Mars mission. (Personally, I'm excited for the MOXIE instrument[1] - tech that's all but mandatory before human missions) [1] https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8926/nasas-perseverance-mars-rover-extracts-first-oxygen-from-red-planet/ https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8926/nasas-perseverance-mars-rove...
- 0_____0 5y ago
  It's pretty funny to me that the processor on Ingenuity handily outperforms the one on Perseverance by several orders of magnitude.
jffry 5y ago
The NASA site contains a lot of info about Ingenuity: https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/ https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/ , especially this fact sheet (PDF): https://mars.nasa.gov/files/mars2020/MarsHelicopterIngenuity_FactSheet.pdf https://mars.nasa.gov/files/mars2020/MarsHelicopterIngenuity... "Its performance during these experimental test flights will help inform decisions relating to considering small helicopters for future Mars missions, where they could perform in a support role as robotic scouts, surveying terrain from above, or as full standalone science craft carrying instrument payloads. Taking to the air would give scientists a new perspective on a region’s geology and even allow them to peer into areas that are too steep or slippery to send a rover. In the distant future, they might even help astronauts explore Mars"
miohtama 5y ago
They get flight data back. E.g. how late at Mars day it can fly (morning is better), how fast batteries wear out and so on.

justapassenger 5y ago

It’s technology demonstration. It’s not really used for science, other than learning how to fly there.

snypher 5y ago

It's main task is as a technology demonstration, after it's time or power budget is expended the rover will continue with it's scientific mission.

1970-01-01 5y ago

A flight envelope. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_envelope https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_envelope

ceejayoz 5y ago

This one's a technology demo. Future ones might be able to peek over a rock/ridge for planning purposes or access an inaccessible cliff or small crater that's dangerous to rove into.

dylan604 5y ago
Is the data collected by MRO not useful for this as well? Sure, the resolution would be increased, so I guess that would have some benefits. I tend to think of the rover and drone like one of those strategy games where you have to send out scouts to "discover" where to send the rest of the troops, and then plan out how many "moves" to do it in. But then I remember we have the MRO that has pretty much scouted the entire planet. It just takes us a lot of "moves" to get our troops there.
- LunarRover 5y ago
  MRO has a max resolvable resolution of 1 meter - incredibly useful for planning, but not enough to keep a rover safe from harm, let alone do all possible science. The max resolution from a low-altitude helicopter is probably two-three orders of magnitude more detailed
  - dylan604 5y ago
    The rover itself also has high resolution cameras, so it should be able to detect things hazardous/interesting. The drone might be useful to know if it is worth climbing over a dune or whatever, but I still think MRO data would be useful for mission control to plot routes. So maybe the drone+rover would be much more capable as an autonomous pair requiring less input from mission control?

KuiN 5y ago

As other have said, it's a tech demo. Partly just to show we can do powered flight on other celestial bodies, part of it is to test how well the off-the-shelf parts in Ingenuity work in that environment. Rotorcraft require more computing power than is available from typical rad-hardened processors. Ingenuity is using a Snapdragon mobile phone chip, will be interesting to see how long it survives up there. NASA have plans to use rotorcraft in many future missions, including the Dragonfly which will fly around Titan[0]. Launches in 2027. [0] https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasas-dragonfly-will-fly-around-titan-looking-for-origins-signs-of-life https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasas-dragonfly-will-fly-...

Denvercoder9 5y ago
> Quadcopters require more computing power than is available from typical rad-hardened processors. Ingenuity isn't a quadcopter though, it has two blades that counter-rotate around the same axis.
- lsaferite 5y ago
  > two blades that counter-rotate around the same axis Which would make it a coaxial helicopter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaxial_rotors https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaxial_rotors
SECProto 5y ago
In addition to the (very valid!) tech demo aspects of this, there's also the huge public interest/public relations aspect. I've seen more articles and comments on Ingenuity than on any other part of this Mars mission. (Personally, I'm excited for the MOXIE instrument[1] - tech that's all but mandatory before human missions) [1] https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8926/nasas-perseverance-mars-rover-extracts-first-oxygen-from-red-planet/ https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8926/nasas-perseverance-mars-rove...
0_____0 5y ago
It's pretty funny to me that the processor on Ingenuity handily outperforms the one on Perseverance by several orders of magnitude.

jffry 5y ago

The NASA site contains a lot of info about Ingenuity: https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/ https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/ , especially this fact sheet (PDF): https://mars.nasa.gov/files/mars2020/MarsHelicopterIngenuity_FactSheet.pdf https://mars.nasa.gov/files/mars2020/MarsHelicopterIngenuity... "Its performance during these experimental test flights will help inform decisions relating to considering small helicopters for future Mars missions, where they could perform in a support role as robotic scouts, surveying terrain from above, or as full standalone science craft carrying instrument payloads. Taking to the air would give scientists a new perspective on a region’s geology and even allow them to peer into areas that are too steep or slippery to send a rover. In the distant future, they might even help astronauts explore Mars"

miohtama 5y ago

They get flight data back. E.g. how late at Mars day it can fly (morning is better), how fast batteries wear out and so on.