While the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover is performing all the system checks, the Ingenuity Helicopter is also doing its part of the jobs. Giving the low temperature on Mars (it could go down below 90°C at night), keeping all the electronic systems and its mechanical structure warm is crucial. That is why when the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover first arrived, the Ingenuity Helicopter stayed attached to the belly of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover till it was sufficiently charged from the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover. Even after the Ingenuity Helicopter disengaged from the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover it still carries backup batteries that were charged from the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover.
We are building a 1:2 Peseverance Mars Rover Replica, which will perfectly replicate the appearance structure of the real Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover in very fine details, but with no actual scientific functions. The Ingenuity Helicopter is also in our plan to replicate. The difference between our Mars Rover Replica and Ingenuity Helicopter replica, on Earth, and the real Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover and Ingenuity Helicopter, on Mars, is we won’t need to keep them warm the whole time. The motors won’t run so heavily so you won’t need to worry about keeping them cool either.
After parting with the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover, the rover moved far from the Ingenuity Helicopter so that Ingenuity would receive enough solar power. That is why the first night on its own would be very important, which is one of the milestones set for the Ingenuity Helicopter.
The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover mainly runs on nuclear power, and the Ingenuity Helicopter runs on solar power, but for our Mars Rover Replica and the Ingenuity Helicopter replica, they will run on rechargeable batteries and an external power supply.
Unlike the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover, the Ingenuity Helicopter does not carry any science instruments and its purpose on this mission is not for scientific study, but to only show the possibility of exploring a planet with an aircraft, even though it is a small one. It is beyond excitement that the Ingenuity Helicopter spent the first night on its own successfully. Now the team will prepare for the first flight.
Just like the Ingenuity Helicopter, our Mars Rover Replica also doesn’t carry any science instruments either, but our Mars Rover Replica will have all the scientific instruments’ appearance structures. If you are interested in our Mars Rover Replica, please check [1:2 Perseverance Mars Rover Replica Design and Building Diary].