Veritasium's Derek Muller visits NASA JPL to see the Mars helicopter Ingenuity before it was mounted on the rover. He explains how it can fly in Mars's thin atmosphere with large, fast-spinning contra-rotating rotors and low mass, and covers power and cold.
Why Hacker News points people here: HN repeatedly recommends it as an excellent explanation of why flying on Mars is hard and how the helicopter was built.
“a really excellent video that answers all your questions”HN comment, 2021
“a really excellent video that answers all your questions”
Explains why thin Martian air makes the helicopter hard to fly.
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Here's a really excellent video that answers all your questions: this video TL;DW: Martian atmosphere is so sparse that it's equivalent to flying at 100,000 feet on Earth. (The altitude record on Earth is 85,000 feet, set by the SR-71.) In order to fly at all the blades have to spin at nearly the (Martian) speed of sound. The drone wouldn't fly on Earth because the atmosphere is so dense that the blades would never make it up to speed.
RecommendsjcimsJun 2020
“Derek from Veritasium did a nice little story on it last summer”
Veritasium story on the Mars helicopter.
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Totally agree. It's obviously a high risk portion of the mission but I'm glad someone had the guts to propose it. Derek from Veritasium did a nice little story on it last summer - this video
RecommendsmanicdeeFeb 2021
“containing some interesting discussions with the team that built it”
Discussions with the team that built the helicopter.
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Veritasium did an episode 'Mars Helicopter' containing some interesting discussions with the team that built it. this video nm it was already linked elsewhere
RecommendskibwenFeb 2021
“A great video where the host visits the drone, interviews its makers, and goes over the cool technical aspects of it and its mission”
Host visits the drone, interviews makers, covers technical aspects.
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A great video where the host visits the drone, interviews its makers, and goes over the cool technical aspects of it and its mission: this video
RecommendsBrajeshwarFeb 2021
“You should watch Dr. Derek Muller of Veritasium”
Details of the helicopter while it was being built.
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You should watch Dr. Derek Muller of Veritasium, who did a video (2019) details of the Helicopter while it was being built. this video
Recommendskingo55Feb 2021
“Good rundown of how it was built”
Rundown of how the helicopter was built.
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It's not just atmosphere and g-forces. The cold temperatures mean the helicopter spends 2/3 of its battery power keeping the batteries and electronics from freezing. Good rundown of how it was built: this video
RecommendsjshmrsnApr 2021
“Veritasium has a great video on the helicopter.”
Explains Mars atmosphere density and helicopter altitude challenges.
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Veritasium has a great video on the helicopter. Early on in the video they explain that Mars’ atmosphere is equivalent in density to Earth’s atmosphere at 100,000 feet, and the record altitude for helicopters on earth is 40,000 feet. this video
RecommendsortusduxApr 2021
“This video from Veritasium does a good job of covering the helicopter power system”
Covers the helicopter power system and cold batteries.
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On top of what others have said, we need advancement it batteries that can withstand low temperatures. Lithium ion batteries generally need to be kept above freezing temps. There have been some advances in capacitors that operate down to -100C, but their energy density makes them a non-ideal option for weight limited applications. This video from Veritasium does a good job of covering the helicopter power system: this video
RecommendsvizzierApr 2021
“Video from Veritasium about the helicopter that talk with the team about this.”
Team discusses heating energy use, landing, and low-pressure flight.
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Video from Veritasium about the helicopter that talk with the team about this. He mentions that 2/3rds of the daily energy gathered is used for the purpose[1] Other information about the tech; camera & landing, energy use for heating, flight in low pressure atmosphere, the system to actually land the thing, is also really interesting. this video
RecommendsdirktApr 2021
“The video also explains why the chose two contra-rotating rotors instead of a quad-copter design.”
Explains rotor control and the counter-rotating rotor design.
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This video this video explains it: they can change the attack angle of rotor blades for different positions, which produces a torque, though you have to compensate for the gyroscopic effect, which lags behind. Humans cannot fly this, but computers can. The video also explains why the chose two contra-rotating rotors instead of a quad-copter design.
Recommendsruchin_kSep 2021
“the technical complexity required to fly on Mars was shocking to me”
Technical complexity of flying in Mars's thin air.
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Saw this Veritasium youtube video a year ago and the technical complexity required to fly on Mars was shocking to me. Since the air density is super low the blades need to spin at a speed which nears the speed of sound at the blade tips. Crossing the speed of sound causes mini sonic booms which could disrupt the flight entirely. Kudos to NASA scientists for this technological breakthrough! Sharing the video: this video
Cites itdoitLPFeb 2021
“Veritasium did a cool video about it a couple years ago.”
Veritasium video about the Mars helicopter.
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I’ll bet they worked with my friend who is the Deputy Surface Mission Manager for the rover. He gave us a little presentation of what he worked on, including the little helicopter that is attached to the underside of the rover. Veritasium did a cool video about it a couple years ago. [1] Kudos to everyone who worked on the project and got it launched during the pandemic! [1] this video
Cites itSubMachineGhostFeb 2021
“The answer comes from an interview with the engineers here”
Engineer interview answering questions about Mars atmosphere and flight.
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Mars has 1% of earth's atmosphere, so it will not affect the vehicle, The answer comes from an interview with the engineers here : this video
Cites itsmoeMar 2021
“They briefly talk about it in this Veritasium Video at around the 9 minute mark”
Brief discussion of thin Mars atmosphere around the nine minute mark.
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They briefly talk about it in this Veritasium Video at around the 9 minute mark this video He says, unlike in the movies, it is not really an issue. With 1% earth’s atmosphere there is very little matter actually hitting you.
