Good Bye Ingenuity Mars Helicopter

[EEVblog]

Salute the fallen.
What a mission.

[SiliconWizard]

Nice, but I'm waiting for some helicopter that can fly in a complete vacuum.

[AVGresponding]

Nice, but I'm waiting for some helicopter that can fly in a complete vacuum.

What would be the application for this, given that complete vacuum is something you only see inside laboratory experiments?   

[voltsandjolts]

I think it would damage my dyson.

[PA0PBZ]

Here's the problem:

[coppercone2]

that looks like the desert it makes me think you can live there. it looks like Tunisia

does that picture make you think extra terrestrial life is certain and common in the universe?

[TimFox]

An old Bob and Ray comedy sketch with an interview of one of the first US astronauts to land on Mars.
He had been criticized for his initial statement “It looks like my driveway in Tucson”, and wanted to set the record straight “My driveway is red”.
Similarly, as tourists we visited Wadi Rum in Jordan, which was an important base for T E Lawrence in WW I and later used in movies to represent Mars.

[EEVblog]

does that picture make you think extra terrestrial life is certain and common in the universe?

Nope. Looks completely lifeless.
They just found huge new water ice deposits. Slim but non-zero chance there.

[coppercone2]

but the sand and stuff is so close to what it looks like on earth and the sky looks almost identical to documentaries I have seen shot about deserts. It looks entirely to me that its just a matter of timing.

Makes me think about if there was life on mars what the last creatures there were, if it had a atmosphere for a short period of time. some kind of crab like things come to mind. There is just something very earth like about that picture........ it seems like the same thing you would see to change your tire in the desert some where on earth. uncanny

[Andy Chee]

If there was ever life on Mars in the past, the environmental conditions time window for such evolution to occur would be only be 100 million years or so..... way too short a time for any complex life to evolve (i.e. anything with a brain).

Nevertheless, there are chemical biosignatures of life on Mars that require investigation, hence the reason for the existence of the Mars planetary science program from Viking to Pathfinder/Sojourner to Perseverance/Ingenuity.

[rdl]

When I first heard about this project, I thought they were a bit crazy and didn't see any point. Now I think it's likely that all future Mars Rovers will be accompanied by at least one or two "Little Buddies". Good job.

[SiliconWizard]

but the sand and stuff is so close to what it looks like on earth and the sky looks almost identical to documentaries I have seen shot about deserts. It looks entirely to me that its just a matter of timing.

Makes me think about if there was life on mars what the last creatures there were, if it had a atmosphere for a short period of time. some kind of crab like things come to mind. There is just something very earth like about that picture........ it seems like the same thing you would see to change your tire in the desert some where on earth. uncanny

There is absolutely no way, from the picture above, to tell where it comes from indeed. No way to tell for sure that it's not been taken on Earth, for instance.
There's no way to tell much of anything from a single picture anyway.

[coppercone2]

normally the outer space pictures usually feel like there is something off about them

[Andy Chee]

but the sand and stuff is so close to what it looks like on earth and the sky looks almost identical to documentaries I have seen shot about deserts. It looks entirely to me that its just a matter of timing.

Makes me think about if there was life on mars what the last creatures there were, if it had a atmosphere for a short period of time. some kind of crab like things come to mind. There is just something very earth like about that picture........ it seems like the same thing you would see to change your tire in the desert some where on earth. uncanny

There is absolutely no way, from the picture above, to tell where it comes from indeed. No way to tell for sure that it's not been taken on Earth, for instance.
There's no way to tell much of anything from a single picture anyway.

One would presume that Ingenuity was roughly scouting the route ahead when it came down.  If so, the Perseverance rover should eventually reach Ingenuity's location, maybe take a picture of the surroundings to examine any ground impact damage.

[EEVblog]

One would presume that Ingenuity was roughly scouting the route ahead when it came down.  If so, the Perseverance rover should eventually reach Ingenuity's location, maybe take a picture of the surroundings to examine any ground impact damage.

That would be really cool. Big PR value there.

[EEVblog]

When I first heard about this project, I thought they were a bit crazy and didn't see any point. Now I think it's likely that all future Mars Rovers will be accompanied by at least one or two "Little Buddies". Good job.

Seems like a no-brainer.

[MT]

One day Elon Musk steps out of his Starship at the chopper resting site and gently slides down the ladder to the dusty ground
of Mars and then utter; one leap for man kind, one giant for me and then replaces the damaged prop blade! One day...sooon. 

[schmitt trigger]

The video’s parting words gave me the chills. NASA it’s once again finding its Mojo. 

“Make the impossible, possible. That is what we do at NASA”.

[CatalinaWOW]

This is stunningly good at first glance.  And gets better when you think about it.

Just what percentage of commercial RC helicopters/drones make it to 75 flights before an accident requiring repairs?  With outdoor overwinter storage.  My observations at local RC flying fields and around town would indicate that it is single digit or less.  And it is a much easier environment.

[EEVblog]

One day...sooon. 

Dont hold your breath.

[Black Phoenix]

This is stunningly good at first glance.  And gets better when you think about it.

Just what percentage of commercial RC helicopters/drones make it to 75 flights before an accident requiring repairs?  With outdoor overwinter storage.  My observations at local RC flying fields and around town would indicate that it is single digit or less.  And it is a much easier environment.

Yes but I'm certain those also doesn't cost the same that this one costs and how hand picked/tested his components must had been to endure such environment...

[coppercone2]

normally the outer space pictures usually feel like there is something off about them

Maybe what you're noticing is the general ambience of the camera used to take the picture.

Most space photos are taken with rather boring scientifically calibrated low-resolution CCDs. Ingenuity used a Snapdragon SoC and a camera (IMX214) which is common in modern smartphones.

well shit it just means the planet is more earth like if all it takes is the same camera.

[EEVblog]

well shit it just means the planet is more earth like if all it takes is the same camera.

[TimFox]

I suspect that image was made in Wadi Rum, Jordan.

[EEVblog]

I suspect that image was made in Wadi Rum, Jordan.

It was.
You can play pretend martian there:
https://wildmanlife.com/wadi-rum-desert-camp/

[CatalinaWOW]

This is stunningly good at first glance.  And gets better when you think about it.

Just what percentage of commercial RC helicopters/drones make it to 75 flights before an accident requiring repairs?  With outdoor overwinter storage.  My observations at local RC flying fields and around town would indicate that it is single digit or less.  And it is a much easier environment.

Yes but I'm certain those also doesn't cost the same that this one costs and how hand picked/tested his components must had been to endure such environment...

Very true.  But most earthly RC helicopters/drones do not crash or stop operation because of failed components.  The number one cause of mortality is operator error.  With hanger rash (storage accidents) being next in line.  And many are operated line of sight.  None of them have any significant communications lag.   Try flying your drone when you have to make all your commands and decisions several minutes to hours before the flight takes place, and you can only do your flight planning with satellite images.  And where the classic earthbound response to avoid terrain etc. is to fly higher, the air at ground level on Mars is already so thin that climbing is next to impossible.

I'm not ready to say that NASA has their mojo back, but I could pretty easily go along with JPL never lost theirs.

[Gyro]

I suspect that image was made in Wadi Rum, Jordan.

It was.
You can play pretend martian there:
https://wildmanlife.com/wadi-rum-desert-camp/

That seems like an awful lot of decking. Presumably for the sun loungers and BBQs! 

[Black Phoenix]

This is stunningly good at first glance.  And gets better when you think about it.

Just what percentage of commercial RC helicopters/drones make it to 75 flights before an accident requiring repairs?  With outdoor overwinter storage.  My observations at local RC flying fields and around town would indicate that it is single digit or less.  And it is a much easier environment.

Yes but I'm certain those also doesn't cost the same that this one costs and how hand picked/tested his components must had been to endure such environment...

Very true.  But most earthly RC helicopters/drones do not crash or stop operation because of failed components.  The number one cause of mortality is operator error.  With hanger rash (storage accidents) being next in line.  And many are operated line of sight.  None of them have any significant communications lag.   Try flying your drone when you have to make all your commands and decisions several minutes to hours before the flight takes place, and you can only do your flight planning with satellite images.  And where the classic earthbound response to avoid terrain etc. is to fly higher, the air at ground level on Mars is already so thin that climbing is next to impossible.

I'm not ready to say that NASA has their mojo back, but I could pretty easily go along with JPL never lost theirs.

Very true indeed. That is probably the most remarkable thing, the planning of the flights way in advance other than "we think it will go well but only when it lands safely we can say for sure since we are not sending commands live" type of feedback we are used to.

[coppercone2]

I suspect that image was made in Wadi Rum, Jordan.

It was.
You can play pretend martian there:
https://wildmanlife.com/wadi-rum-desert-camp/

That seems like an awful lot of decking. Presumably for the sun loungers and BBQs! 

MAYBE a bit of a safety thing too for venomous snakes

[Gyro]

Neither would be part of the authentic Mars experience.

[schmitt trigger]

And if you squint real hard, you can see an Elon Musk lookalike standing close to a Starship mock-up.