A piece of the Wright brothersB次元官网网址� first airplane is on Mars.
NASAB次元官网网址檚 experimental Martian helicopter holds a small swatch of fabric from the 1903 Wright Flyer, the space agency revealed Tuesday. The helicopter, named Ingenuity, hitched a ride to the red planet with the Perseverance rover, arriving last month.
Ingenuity will attempt the first powered, controlled flight on another planet no sooner than April 8. It will mark a B次元官网网址淲right brothersB次元官网网址� moment,B次元官网网址� noted Bobby Braun, director for planetary science at NASAB次元官网网址檚 Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The Carillon Historical Park in Dayton, Ohio, the WrightsB次元官网网址� hometown, donated the postage-size piece of muslin from the planeB次元官网网址檚 bottom left wing, at NASAB次元官网网址檚 request.
The swatch made the 300 million-mile journey to Mars with the blessing of the Wright brothersB次元官网网址� great-grandniece and great-grandnephew, said park curator Steve Lucht.
B次元官网网址淲ilbur and Orville Wright would be pleased to know that a little piece of their 1903 Wright Flyer I, the machine that launched the Space Age by barely one quarter of a mile, is going to soar into history again on Mars!B次元官网网址� Amanda Wright Lane and Stephen Wright said in a statement provided by the park.
Orville Wright was on board for the worldB次元官网网址檚 first powered, controlled flight on Dec. 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The brothers took turns, making four flights that day.
A fragment of Wright Flyer wood and fabric flew to the moon with Apollo 11B次元官网网址檚 Neil Armstrong in 1969. A swatch also accompanied John Glenn into orbit aboard space shuttle Discovery in 1998. Both astronauts were from Ohio.
NASAB次元官网网址檚 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) helicopter will attempt to rise 10 feet (3 metres) into the extremely thin Martian air on its first hop. Up to five increasingly higher and longer flights are planned over the course of a month.
The material is taped to a cable beneath the helicopterB次元官网网址檚 solar panel, which is perched on top like a graduateB次元官网网址檚 mortarboard.
For now, Ingenuity remains attached to the roverB次元官网网址檚 belly. A protective shield dropped away over the weekend, exposing the spindly, long-legged chopper.
The helicopter airfield is right next to the roverB次元官网网址檚 landing site in Jezero Crater. The rover will observe the test flights from a distant perch, before driving away to pursue its own mission: hunting for signs of ancient Martian life. Rock samples will be set aside for eventual return to Earth.
