NASA’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity ready for new operational test phase
May 1, 2021, 8:41 am

NASA’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity ready for new operational test phase

Ingenuity Mars Helicopter flies over Mars in an undated illustration provided by Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. (File photo: Reuters)

After exceeding all expectations with its initial four test flights, the first ever by an aircraft over the surface of another planet, NASA’s tiny Mars robot helicopter Ingenuity is ready for graduation.

The US space agency announced on Friday that Ingenuity is shifting from a pure proof-of-concept, technology demonstration mode to a more ambitious mission gauging how aerial scouting and other functions might benefit future scientific exploration of the Red Planet.

Ingenuity’s 30-day planned project extension was outlined during a briefing from its mission control center at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) near Los Angeles, where the twin-rotor aircraft was designed and built.

The new “operational demonstration” phase of the 4-pound (1.8 kg), solar-powered chopper began with its fourth takeoff on a nearly two-minute flight Friday morning,

Data returned from Ingenuity later in the day showed that it covered a round-trip distance of 872 feet (266 meters) - roughly the length of three American football fields - at a speed of almost 8 miles per hour (3.5 meters per second).

The helicopter flew at height of about 16 feet (5 meters), considered ideal for the ground-surveillance work it was performing while aloft and matching the altitude of its second and third flights.

The latest outing topped the speed and distance records set on Sunday by flight No. 3, which went farther and faster than the test flights conducted on Earth.

By comparison, Ingenuity’s very first 39-second flight on Mars on April 19 climbed just 10 feet (3 meters) high, hovered in place briefly and descended straight back down for landing.

While humble in terms of mere metrics, NASA likened the achievement to the Wright Brothers’ historic first controlled flight of their motor-driven airplane near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903.

For NASA, the challenge was powering an aircraft in the ultra-thin air of Mars, whose atmosphere is just 1 percent as dense as Earth’s, making it especially difficult to generate aerodynamic lift. To compensate engineers equipped Ingenuity with rotor blades that are larger and spin far more rapidly than would be needed on Earth.

The miniature helicopter hitched a ride to Mars strapped to the belly of the NASA science rover Perseverance, a six-wheeled astrobiology lab that landed on Feb. 18 in a vast basin called Jezero Crater after a nearly seven-month journey through space.

Except for a computer software glitch that has twice delayed Ingenuity flights, the rotorcraft has operated flawlessly, meeting all technical objectives in its first three flights on Mars, said MiMi Aung, Ingenuity project manager at JPL.

“And now it’s like Ingenuity is graduating, from a tech-demo phase to the new ops-demo phase,” she said.

This video grab made from a NASA live stream on April 19, 2021 shows the agency's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter flying over the surface of Mars. (File photo: AFP)

On its latest jaunt, Ingenuity snapped 60 black-and-white images and several color photos of the Martian surface while buzzing over the planet’s reddish-orange landscape.

The pictures will be fashioned into three-dimensional digital elevation maps for use in selecting a suitable new takeoff and landing zone for later flights.

Similar tracking operations could also be used to help mission managers conduct low-altitude science observations of sites not easily reached by a rover, and to scout for preferred rover routes to various surface destinations.

The next flight, No. 5, will send Ingenuity on a one-way trip to a new “air field” in two or three weeks as engineers continue to press the helicopter beyond its design limits, Aung said. However, mission managers will probably not push the aircraft quite so hard as they would have otherwise without its new “ops-demo” mission, she told reporters.

Meanwhile, JPL will continue preparing Perseverance for its primary mission, a search for traces of fossilized microorganisms in Jezero Crater. Scientists expect to begin acollecting Martian rock samples there in July.

source: Reuters

Image source: Reuters

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the company’s headquarters in the Seef District.
During the meeting, shareholders approved all items listed on the agenda, including the ratification of the minutes of the previous AGM held on 26 March 2024. The session reviewed and approved the Board’s Annual Report on the company’s activities and financial performance for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2024, and the shareholders expressed their satisfaction with the company’s operational and financial results during the reporting period.
The meeting also reviewed the Independent External Auditor’s Report on the company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. Subsequently, the shareholders approved the audited financial statements for the fiscal year. Based on the Board’s recommendation, the shareholders approved the distribution of a cash dividend equivalent to 10% of the paid-up share capital.
Furthermore, the shareholders endorsed the allocation of a total amount of BD 172,500 as remuneration to the members of the Board for the year ended 31 December 2024, subject to prior clearance by related authorities.
The extension of the current composition of the Board was approved, which includes ten members and one CBB observer, for a further six-month term, expiring in September 2025, pending no objection from the CBB.
The meeting reviewed and approved the Corporate Governance Report for 2024, which affirmed the company’s full compliance with the corporate governance directives issued by the CBB and other applicable regulatory frameworks. The AGM absolved the Board Members of liability for any of their actions during the year ending on 31st December 2024, in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law.
In alignment with regulatory requirements, the session approved the reappointment of Ernst & Young (EY) as the company’s External Auditors for the fiscal year 2025, covering both the parent company and its subsidiaries—Sinnad and Bahrain FinTech Bay. The Board was authorised to determine the external auditors’ professional fees, subject to approval from the CBB, and the meeting concluded with a discussion of any additional issues as per Article (207) of the Commercial Companies Law.
Speaking on the company’s performance, Mr. Mohamed Al Bastaki, Chairman BENEFIT , stated: “In terms of the financial results for 2024, I am pleased to say that the year gone by has also been proved to be a success in delivering tangible results. Growth rate for 2024 was 19 per cent. Revenue for the year was BD 17 M (US$ 45.3 Million) and net profit was 2 Million ($ 5.3 Million).

Mr. Al Bastaki also announced that the Board had formally adopted a new three-year strategic roadmap to commence in 2025. The strategy encompasses a phased international expansion, optimisation of internal operations, enhanced revenue diversification, long-term sustainability initiatives, and the advancement of innovation and digital transformation initiatives across all service lines.
“I extend my sincere appreciation to the CBB for its continued support of BENEFIT and its pivotal role in fostering a stable and progressive regulatory environment for the Kingdom’s banking and financial sector—an environment that has significantly reinforced Bahrain’s standing as a leading financial hub in the region,” said Mr. Al Bastaki. “I would also like to thank our partner banks and valued customers for their trust, and our shareholders for their ongoing encouragement. The achievements of 2024 set a strong precedent, and I am confident they will serve as a foundation for yet another successful and impactful year ahead.”
Chief Executive of BENEFIT; Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi commented, “The year 2024 represented another pivotal chapter in BENEFIT ’s evolution. We achieved substantial progress in advancing our digital strategy across multiple sectors, while reinforcing our long-term commitment to the development of Bahrain’s financial services and payments landscape. Throughout the year, we remained firmly aligned with our objective of delivering measurable value to our shareholders, strategic partners, and customers. At the same time, we continued to play an active role in enabling Bahrain’s digital economy by introducing innovative solutions and service enhancements that directly address market needs and future opportunities.”
Mr. AlJanahi affirmed that BENEFIT has successfully developed a robust and well-integrated payment network that connects individuals and businesses across Bahrain, accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies in the banking and financial services sector and reinforcing Bahrain’s position as a growing fintech hub, and added, “Our achievements of the past year reflect a long-term vision to establish a resilient electronic payment infrastructure that supports the Kingdom’s digital economy. Key developments in 2024 included the implementation of central authentication for open banking via BENEFIT Pay”
Mr. AlJanahi concluded by thanking the Board for its strategic direction, the company’s staff for their continued dedication, and the Central Bank of Bahrain, member banks, and shareholders for their valuable partnership and confidence in the company’s long-term vision.