The launch, which has already been delayed several times, is scheduled to take place at 9:30 a.m. (CET) and data will be received on the ground starting at 12:15 p.m., according to NASA.
It will be the first flight of a plane to another planet. However, she added, the start may be delayed at short notice.
The first flight of the small helicopter that landed on the surface of Mars in the “persistent” rover in February was originally scheduled for April 11, but was subsequently delayed to April 14 and then again due to technical problems. The height of “creativity” is 1.8 kilograms (German: ingenuity) that rises to a height of about three meters on its first test flight, stays there for 30 seconds and then lands again on Mars.
Extreme conditions
The helicopter must challenge the harsh conditions: on Mars it is cold to 90 degrees below zero at night, the planet’s gravity is less and the atmosphere is much thinner.
The small helicopter was placed in the belly of “perseverance” (German: endurance) at the end of February – after 203 days of flight and 472 million kilometers of travel – with a risky maneuver in a dry Martian lake called “Jezero Crater”. Perseverance is to examine this lake, which has a diameter of about 45 kilometers, for the next two years.
“Prone to fits of apathy. Zombie ninja. Entrepreneur. Organizer. Evil travel aficionado. Coffee practitioner. Beer lover.”
More Stories
Voyager 1 is once again sending data from deep space
Use two Bluetooth headphones at the same time
A mysterious discovery on Mars – NASA talks about “tire tracks” or “dragon scales”