Hey there! Today, we’re going to learn about an amazing machine called Ingenuity that NASA sent to Mars. Squeaks and I are super excited to share this with you!
NASA has sent several rovers to Mars before. Rovers are like special cars that drive around on other planets to explore, take pictures, and send information back to Earth. But Ingenuity is different because it doesn’t drive; it flies! It’s the first flying machine on Mars, and it gives scientists a whole new way to look at the planet.
Ingenuity is not an airplane; it’s a helicopter! Helicopters fly differently than planes or birds. They have spinning blades on top that act like a big fan to push the air and lift the helicopter up. But flying on Mars is tricky because there’s not much air to push against. Mars has much less air than Earth, so NASA’s engineers had to design Ingenuity to be super lightweight with long blades that spin really fast to make the most of the thin air.
We can have fun like space engineers by building our own model helicopter! You’ll need scissors, paper, a printed template from NASA, a stopwatch, and a grown-up to help. First, cut along the dotted lines on the template and fold along the bold lines to make your paper helicopter. When you drop it from a high place, like a chair, the blades will spin and help slow down its fall, just like a real helicopter!
Once you’ve built your model, you can try different designs to see what works best. You might try longer blades, lighter paper, or different blade angles. Use a clock to time how long each design stays in the air. Just like the engineers who built Ingenuity, you can test many designs to find the best one!
We hope you enjoy being an engineer for the day and have fun experimenting with your helicopter model. If you want to keep exploring with us, be sure to subscribe to SciShow Kids. See you next time!
Helicopter Hunt: Go on a hunt around your house or neighborhood to find things that spin like a helicopter’s blades. Look for fans, windmills, or even a spinning top. Draw or take pictures of what you find and think about how these objects are similar to Ingenuity’s spinning blades. Discuss with a friend or family member how these spinning objects help things move or stay balanced.
Design Your Own Mars Helicopter: Use craft materials like paper, straws, and tape to design your own Mars helicopter. Think about what features might help it fly better in Mars’ thin air. Once you’ve built your helicopter, test it by dropping it from different heights and see how it spins. Can you make changes to help it stay in the air longer? Write down or draw your observations and share your findings with your class or family.
Question Time: Imagine you are an engineer at NASA. What other challenges do you think you might face when designing a flying machine for Mars? How would you solve them? Discuss your ideas with a friend or family member and come up with creative solutions together.
