NASA Continues Mars Helicopter Experiments, Tests New Design on Earth

2023-12-04 16:29:34来源：网络

NASA Continues Mars Helicopter Experiments, Tests New Design on Earth

NASA继续进行火星直升机实验，在地球上测试新设计

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　　By Bryan Lynn

　　03 December 2023

　　As the American space agency NASA continues to carry out tests of its Ingenuity helicopter on Mars, it is also testing a future aircraft design on Earth.

　　NASA's Ingenuity has been making test flights on the Red Planet for the past two-and-a-half years. The experimental helicopter arrived on Mars along with NASA's Perseverance explorer, or rover, in February 2021.

　　Both the rover and helicopter have been collecting images and data as they explore an area known as Jezero Crater. The goal of the exploration effort is to search for signs of ancient life on Mars.

　　Ingenuity made history on Mars

　　Ingenuity made history in April 2021 by becoming the first aircraft to complete a powered, controlled flight on another planet. NASA officials have said the helicopter has performed far above expectations. Agency engineers planned on Ingenuity completing just five experimental flights on Mars. But the helicopter has so far performed 66 flights. It has provided NASA with valuable data on building future aircraft to fly in space.

　　Travis Brown is Ingenuity's chief engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California. He said in a statement that with nearly every flight, the helicopter has progressed in new ways. Brown noted that over the past nine months, Ingenuity had doubled its top speed and height records. In addition, the aircraft's operating speed and landings improved.

　　Most Ingenuity flights only last two to three minutes. This is because the helicopter has energy and temperature limitations.

　　NASA engineers say they have also been careful not to try to fly Ingenuity too fast because this can cause problems with its navigation system. The helicopter uses a camera to identify rocks and other things on the surface as it travels. If the aircraft goes too fast, it might not be able to navigate the best way forward.

　　Controllers on the ground have said that to help with this issue, they have sent commands to Ingenuity to fly at higher levels. This way the aircraft has less chance of losing its way because surface objects stay in view longer.

　　NASA says Ingenuity established a new height record, on flight 61, of 24 meters as it examined Martian wind conditions. On flight 62, the helicopter set a new speed record of 10 meters per second. During this flight Ingenuity also identified a new place for the Perseverance rover to carry out science experiments.

　　Testing new helicopter design on Earth

　　As that testing continues on Mars, teams on the ground have been experimenting with new rotor blades. These could be used in the future with a new generation of Mars helicopters. During the tests, engineers reported the rotor blades had reached speeds nearly equal to Mach 1, the speed of sound.

　　The blades tested on Earth are made of carbon material and are more than 10 centimeters longer than Ingenuity's. The blades were designed to be both faster and stronger. NASA has said such rotor blades should be able to support bigger, more complex helicopters. The team said in a statement the helicopter design must reach the right balance. If the blades spin too fast, this causes control issues that can increase the risk of crashes.

　　The Earth-based tests were carried out in September inside a space simulator at NASA's JPL. For these experiments, the simulator aimed to establish a Mars-like environment. The team was measuring tests of the rotor blades with sensors, cameras and other equipment. Many different speeds were tested and the blades were repeatedly repositioned to observe the best results.

　　"We spun our blades up to 3,500 rpm, which is 750 revolutions per minute faster than the Ingenuity blades have gone," said Tyler Del Sesto, a leader of the JPL testing. "These more efficient blades are now more than a hypothetical exercise. They are ready to fly," he added.

　　I'm Bryan Lynn.

　　Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from NASA.

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　　由Bryan Lynn撰写，

　　2023年12月3日，

　　美国航天局NASA在继续进行火星上的Ingenuity直升机测试的同时，也在地球上测试未来的飞机设计。

　　NASA的Ingenuity直升机在过去的两年半里一直在红色星球上进行试飞。这架实验性质的直升机与NASA的Perseverance探测器，或者说是漫游车，一同在2021年2月抵达火星。

　　漫游车和直升机一直在收集图像和数据，探索被称为Jezero Crater的区域。探索的目标是寻找火星上古老生命的迹象。

　　Ingenuity在火星上创造了历史

　　Ingenuity在2021年4月创造了历史，成为第一架在另一个星球上完成有动力、可控飞行的飞机。NASA的官员表示，这架直升机的表现远超预期。航天局的工程师原计划Ingenuity在火星上只完成五次试验飞行。但到目前为止，这架直升机已经完成了66次飞行。它为NASA提供了关于建造未来太空飞机的宝贵数据。

　　Travis Brown是NASA喷气推进实验室（JPL）在加利福尼亚的Ingenuity的首席工程师。他在一份声明中表示，几乎每次飞行，直升机都有新的进步。Brown指出，在过去的九个月里，Ingenuity的最高速度和高度记录翻了一番。此外，飞机的操作速度和着陆也有所改善。

　　大多数Ingenuity的飞行只持续两到三分钟。这是因为直升机有能源和温度的限制。

　　NASA的工程师表示，他们一直小心翼翼地不让Ingenuity飞得太快，因为这可能会导致其导航系统出现问题。直升机在飞行过程中使用摄像头来识别地面上的岩石和其他物体。如果飞机飞得太快，可能无法找到最佳的前进路线。

　　地面上的控制人员表示，为了解决这个问题，他们已经向Ingenuity发送了命令，让它在更高的高度飞行。这样，飞机因为地面物体在视线中停留的时间更长，所以失去方向的可能性更小。

　　NASA表示，Ingenuity在第61次飞行中创立了新的高度记录，达到24米，以检查火星的风条件。在第62次飞行中，直升机设定了新的速度记录，达到每秒10米。在这次飞行中，Ingenuity还为Perseverance漫游车确定了一个新的进行科学实验的地点。

　　在地球上测试新的直升机设计，

　　在火星上的测试继续进行的同时，地面上的团队一直在试验新的旋翼叶片。这些叶片可能会在未来用于新一代的火星直升机。在测试过程中，工程师报告说旋翼叶片的速度几乎达到了音速，即马赫1。

　　在地球上测试的叶片是由碳材料制成的，比Ingenuity的叶片长超过10厘米。这些叶片被设计得更快、更强。NASA表示，这样的旋翼叶片应该能够支持更大、更复杂的直升机。团队在一份声明中表示，直升机的设计必须达到正确的平衡。如果叶片旋转得太快，这会导致控制问题，从而增加坠机的风险。

　　这些在地球上的测试是在9月份在NASA的喷气推进实验室的空间模拟器内进行的。在这些实验中，模拟器的目标是建立一个类似火星的环境。团队使用传感器、摄像头和其他设备对旋翼叶片进行了测试。测试了许多不同的速度，并反复重新定位叶片以观察最佳结果。

　　喷气推进实验室测试的负责人Tyler Del Sesto说：“我们将我们的叶片旋转速度提高到了每分钟3500转，这比Ingenuity的叶片快了750转。”他补充说：“这些更高效的叶片现在不再只是一个假设的练习。它们已经准备好飞行了。”

　　我是Bryan Lynn。

　　Bryan Lynn根据NASA的报告，为VOA学习英语写了这个故事。