Though Ingenuity has no science hardware, two cameras will help steer the drone and teach NASA engineers how to fly on a world with an atmosphere just 1% as dense as Earth’s.īut why look for life – past or present – in the first place? For Manasvi Lingam, a professor of astrobiology, aerospace, physics and space sciences at Florida Tech, it’s the ultimate journey.
This 4-pound drone will host the first-ever flight on another planet during a roughly monthlong window. Perseverance even has a friend hitching a ride for this mission: Ingenuity.While the Department of Energy-provided hardware can power Perseverance for up to 14 years, the rover’s mission is currently set to last at least one Martian year (two Earth years).
Essentially a “nuclear battery,” both rovers use energy generated by the decay of plutonium to charge onboard lithium batteries during dormancy.