A piece of the Wright brothers ‘first aircraft is in Mars’ NASA’s experimental Mars helicopter, which contains a small swatch of fabric from the Wright Flyer from 1903, the space agency said Tuesday. The helicopter called Ingenuity made a trip to the red planet in the Perseverance rover last month. Ingenuity will attempt the first powered, controlled flight on another planet on April 8th at the earliest. “noted Bobby Braun, director of planetary research at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Carillon Historical Park in Dayton, Ohio, home of the Wrights, donated the postage-sized piece of muslin from the aircraft’s lower left wing at NASA’s request. The pattern made that 300 million mile trip to Mars with the blessings of the Wright brothers’ great-grandmother and great-great-nephew, Park Curator Steve Lucht said, “Wilbur and Orville Wright would be delighted to know this little piece of their 1903 Wright Flyer I, the machine, who started the space age by a quarter of a mile will go down in history on Mars! “Amanda Wright Lane and Stephen Wright said in a statement from the park. Orville Wright was in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903 , on board the world’s first controlled powered flight, the brothers took turns flying four times that day, a fragment of Wright Flyer-Hol z and fabric flew to the moon with Neil Armstrong from Apollo 11 in 1969. In 1998, John Glenn accompanied one of the samples into orbit on the Space Shuttle Discovery. Both astronauts were from Ohio’s 4-pound helicopter; NASA will attempt to soar 10 feet into the extremely thin Martian air on the first jump. In the course of a month, up to five increasingly higher and longer flights are planned. The material is glued to a cable under the helicopter’s solar panel, which sits on it like a graduate’s mortar board. Ingenuity currently remains attached to the rover’s belly. At the weekend, a protective shield fell off, exposing the spindly, long-legged helicopter. The heliport is right next to the rover’s landing pad in the Jezero crater. The rover will observe the test flights from a distant location before setting off to pursue its own mission: hunting for signs of ancient Martian life. Rock samples are set aside for later return to Earth .___ The Associated Press Department of Health and Science receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
A piece of the Wright brothers’ first aircraft is on Mars.
NASA’s experimental Mars helicopter contains a small swatch of fabric from the Wright Flyer from 1903, the space agency announced on Tuesday. The helicopter called Ingenuity made a trip to the red planet in the Perseverance rover last month.
Ingenuity will attempt the first powered, controlled flight on another planet on April 8th at the earliest. This marks a “Wright Brothers Moment,” noted Bobby Braun, director of planetary research at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The Carillon Historical Park in Dayton, Ohio, the Wrights hometown, donated the postage muslin postage from the lower left wing of the aircraft at NASA’s request.
The pattern made the 300 million mile journey to Mars with the blessings of the Wright brothers’ great-great-niece and great-great-nephew, said park curator Steve Lucht.
“Wilbur and Orville Wright would be delighted to know that a small piece of their 1903 Wright Flyer I, the machine that started the space age nearly a quarter of a mile, will go down in history on Mars!” Amanda Wright Lane and Stephen Wright said in a statement from the park.
Orville Wright was in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903, aboard the world’s first controlled powered flight. The brothers took turns and flew four times that day.
A fragment of Wright Flyer wood and cloth flew to the moon with Neil Armstrong from Apollo 11 in 1969. In 1998, John Glenn accompanied one of the samples into orbit on the Space Shuttle Discovery. Both astronauts were from Ohio.
NASA’s 4-pound helicopter will attempt to soar 10 feet into the extremely thin Martian air on its first jump. In the course of a month, up to five increasingly higher and longer flights are planned.
The material is taped to a cable under the helicopter’s solar panel, which sits on top like a graduate’s mortar board.
At the moment Ingenuity is staying on the rover’s belly. Over the weekend, a protective shield fell off, exposing the spindly, long-legged helicopter.
The heliport is right next to the rover’s landing pad in the Jezero crater. The rover will observe the test flights from a distant location before setting off to pursue its own mission: hunting for signs of ancient Martian life. Rock samples are set aside for later return to earth.
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The Associated Press Department of Health and Science is supported by the Department of Science Education of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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