The workforce behind NASA’s plucky Ingenuity helicopter has collected one other award for the plane’s groundbreaking achievements on Mars.
The helicopter hovered into the historical past books in April 2021 when it turned the primary plane to attain powered, managed flight on one other planet.
In recognition of its success, the Nationwide Aeronautic Affiliation offered NASA’s workforce on the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) with the distinguished Robert J. Collier Trophy at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on June 9. JPL tweeted a number of images from the occasion:
Yesterday, the #MarsHelicopter workforce accepted the distinguished Collier Trophy, awarded by the Nationwide Aeronautic Affiliation for the best achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America.
Please assist us congratulate the Ingenuity workforce! 👏 pic.twitter.com/rEM5Uh1XQC
— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) June 10, 2022
The trophy is offered every year for “the best achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to enhancing the efficiency, effectivity, and security of air or area automobiles.”
Commenting on the award, Teddy Tzanetos, JPL’s workforce lead for the helicopter, mentioned: “Almost each step we took on this journey moved into uncharted territory, and lots of didn’t consider we’d even make it into the air.”
Tzanetos added: “Now, considering again to ready nervously to see if our first sortie could be a hit, it’s unbelievable to be the place we’re at this time. The Collier Trophy is such an honor, and I’m so happy with everybody who labored so laborious to appreciate this imaginative and prescient.”
Following its maiden flight on the purple planet greater than a yr in the past, Ingenuity was solely anticipated to take an additional 4 flights as a part of a expertise demonstration. Nevertheless it carried out so properly throughout its early missions that the workforce has been capable of proceed with its work and chalk up 28 flights up to now.
The Ingenuity helicopter is nineteen.3 inches (49 cm) tall and weighs 4 kilos (2 kg). Its furthest single flight up to now is 2,325 ft (709 meters), with the identical mission seeing it attain a file pace of 12.3 mph (19.8 kph).
To the workforce’s delight, Ingenuity has been capable of help the workforce overseeing NASA’s ground-based Perseverance rover through the use of its onboard digital camera to carry out exploration flights over areas of curiosity in addition to checking the most secure routes for the rover to take throughout the rocky martian floor.
The Robert J. Collier Trophy was established greater than a century in the past as a option to spotlight important achievements within the subject of aviation. Earlier recipients of the award embrace Orville Wright in 1913 for creating the automated stabilizer, Air Pressure take a look at pilot Chuck Yeager for his X-1 rocket aircraft mission in 1947 that marked the primary crewed flight to interrupt the sound barrier, and the astronauts of NASA’s Apollo voyages to the moon 5 many years in the past.
And it’s not the primary award to go to the Ingenuity workforce, both. Its rising record of accolades contains recognition from the House Basis for achievements in area exploration, and a prize from the Vertical Flight Society for “excellent enchancment in basic helicopter expertise,” amongst different awards.
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