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Mars Helicopter (before it went to Mars)

Veritasium · explainer · Watch on YouTube

Aviation & aerospace engineeringSpace exploration & spaceflightEveryday physics & science demos

What it is

Veritasium's Derek Muller visits NASA JPL to see the Mars helicopter Ingenuity before it was mounted on the rover. He explains how it can fly in Mars's thin atmosphere with large, fast-spinning contra-rotating rotors and low mass, and covers power and cold.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN repeatedly recommends it as an excellent explanation of why flying on Mars is hard and how the helicopter was built.

  • 10 people recommended it
  • 4 different months
  • 1 strong recommendations
  • first 2020, last 2021

What HN commenters said

  1. “a really excellent video that answers all your questions”

    Explains why thin Martian air makes the helicopter hard to fly.

    kibwen, 2021-02 · Strong recommendation · in “Perseverance Rover lands on Mars [video]”

  2. “Derek from Veritasium did a nice little story on it last summer”

    Veritasium story on the Mars helicopter.

    jcims, 2020-06 · Recommendation · in “NASA rushing to complete Mars launch before planet moves out of range”

  3. “containing some interesting discussions with the team that built it”

    Discussions with the team that built the helicopter.

    manicdee, 2021-02 · Recommendation · in “How NASA Designed a Helicopter That Could Fly Autonomously on Mars”

  4. “You should watch Dr. Derek Muller of Veritasium”

    Details of the helicopter while it was being built.

    Brajeshwar, 2021-02 · Recommendation · in “The Mars Helicopter Is Online and Getting Ready to Fly”

  5. “Good rundown of how it was built”

    Rundown of how the helicopter was built.

    kingo55, 2021-02 · Recommendation · in “The Mars Helicopter Is Online and Getting Ready to Fly”

  6. “Veritasium has a great video on the helicopter.”

    Explains Mars atmosphere density and helicopter altitude challenges.

    jshmrsn, 2021-04 · Recommendation · in “NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity touches down on the Red Planet”

  7. “This video from Veritasium does a good job of covering the helicopter power system”

    Covers the helicopter power system and cold batteries.

    ortusdux, 2021-04 · Recommendation · in “NASA's helicopter survives first freezing night on Mars”

  8. “Video from Veritasium about the helicopter that talk with the team about this.”

    Team discusses heating energy use, landing, and low-pressure flight.

    vizzier, 2021-04 · Recommendation · in “NASA's helicopter survives first freezing night on Mars”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: ingenuity, nasa jpl, aerodynamics, mars, veritasium

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