Why is the tissue-box-sized Mars Helicopter, Ingenuity so special?

The NASA's Mars Helicopter, Ingenuity has been in a hot topic among space fans. But why? Why is everyone talking about it? It's just another drone right? 

Well, you know what? The answer is no. It's not like any other flying drone. It's even better than DJI drones! 😂

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Image credit: NASA

Let me explain:

The Martian atmosphere is very thin. Much thinner than Earth's, only less than 1% of Earth's atmosphere. What that means is that you cannot fly a kite there. 

Another example, if you drive a car on Mars and speed up, then lower your window down, you won't feel any wind hitting on your face! 😱

So it's almost impossible for planes or helicopters to fly there. But, miraculously, the Mars Helicopter flew successfully for a several times already on Mars! 

 Image credit: NASA

So if Ingenuity can fly a few meters in such a low atmosphere, you may be wondering how high can it fly on Earth? 

Well, if Ingenuity flies on Earth, it will beat all the helicopters on Earth. It will be flying at around 100,000 feet on Earth! And a commercial aircraft can only fly around 30,000 feet. Imagine that! BOOM! Amazing huh?

So how can it do that? 

First, the speed of the two carbon fiber rotors of Ingenuity is spinning super fast to generate lift, much faster than any helicopters here on Earth! The speed of the rotors are approximately 2400rpm! 

Then, the blades of the helicopter is long, comparing to its body size. It's body is only the size of a tissue box, but its blades are 1.2m long! That's very essential to generate lift on Mars! 

It also has advanced technology inside that 'tissue box' to keep the helicopter warm during the extremely cold night on Mars and to transmit signals. The Ingenuity also has a solar panel to obtain electricity from the sunlight to do all of the above! 

Image credit: NASA JPL

Conclusion:
Never judge a drone by its cover 😜

If I missed anything, comment down below!

Author: Wei Hao