As the American space agency NASA continues to carry out tests of its Ingenuity helicopter on Mars, it is also testing a future aircraft design on Earth.

美国宇航局美国宇航局继续在火星上对其“聪明号”直升机进行测试，同时也在地球上测试未来的飞机设计。

NASA’s Ingenuity has been making test flights on the Red Planet for the past two-and-a-half years. The experimental helicopter arrived on Mars along with NASA’s Perseverance explorer, or rover, in February 2021.

过去两年半以来，美国宇航局的“独创”号一直在这颗红色星球上进行试飞。 这架实验直升机于 2021 年 2 月与 NASA 的毅力号探测器或漫游者一起抵达火星。

Both the rover and helicopter have been collecting images and data as they explore an area known as Jezero Crater. The goal of the exploration effort is to search for signs of ancient life on Mars.

火星车和直升机在探索一个名为杰泽罗陨石坑的区域时一直在收集图像和数据。 探索工作的目标是寻找火星上古代生命的迹象。

Ingenuity made history in April 2021 by becoming the first aircraft to complete a powered, controlled flight on another planet. NASA officials have said the helicopter has performed far above expectations. Agency engineers planned on Ingenuity completing just five experimental flights on Mars. But the helicopter has so far performed 66 flights. It has provided NASA with valuable data on building future aircraft to fly in space.

Ingenuity 于 2021 年 4 月创造了历史，成为第一架在另一个星球上完成动力、受控飞行的飞机。 美国宇航局官员表示，这架直升机的表现远远超出了预期。 该机构的工程师计划“独创”号在火星上仅完成五次实验飞行。 但这架直升机迄今为止已执行了66次飞行。 它为美国宇航局提供了有关建造未来太空飞行飞机的宝贵数据。

Travis Brown is Ingenuity’s chief engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California. He said in a statement that with nearly every flight, the helicopter has progressed in new ways. Brown noted that over the past nine months, Ingenuity had doubled its top speed and height records. In addition, the aircraft’s operating speed and landings improved.

特拉维斯·布朗 (Travis Brown) 是位于加州 NASA 喷气推进实验室 (JPL) 的 Ingenuity 首席工程师。 他在一份声明中表示，几乎每次飞行，直升机都以新的方式取得进展。 布朗指出，在过去的九个月里，独创号将其最高速度和高度记录翻了一番。 此外，飞机的运行速度和着陆次数也有所提高。

Most Ingenuity flights only last two to three minutes. This is because the helicopter has energy and temperature limitations.

大多数 Ingenuity 航班仅持续两到三分钟。 这是因为直升机有能量和温度的限制。

NASA engineers say they have also been careful not to try to fly Ingenuity too fast because this can cause problems with its navigation system. The helicopter uses a camera to identify rocks and other things on the surface as it travels. If the aircraft goes too fast, it might not be able to navigate the best way forward.

美国宇航局工程师表示，他们也一直小心翼翼地不要试图让“聪明号”飞得太快，因为这可能会导致其导航系统出现问题。 直升机在飞行时使用摄像头来识别地面上的岩石和其他物体。 如果飞机速度太快，它可能无法以最佳的方式前进。

Controllers on the ground have said that to help with this issue, they have sent commands to Ingenuity to fly at higher levels. This way the aircraft has less chance of losing its way because surface objects stay in view longer.

地面管制人员表示，为了帮助解决这个问题，他们已向“聪明号”发出指令，让其在更高的高度飞行。 这样，飞机迷失方向的机会就会减少，因为表面物体在视野中停留的时间更长。

NASA says Ingenuity established a new height record, on flight 61, of 24 meters as it examined Martian wind conditions. On flight 62, the helicopter set a new speed record of 10 meters per second. During this flight Ingenuity also identified a new place for the Perseverance rover to carry out science experiments.

NASA 表示，Ingenuity 在第 61 次飞行中检查火星风况时创造了 24 米的新高度记录。 在第62次飞行中，直升机创下了每秒10米的新速度记录。 在这次飞行中，独创号还为毅力号火星车确定了一个进行科学实验的新地点。

As that testing continues on Mars, teams on the ground have been experimenting with new rotor blades. These could be used in the future with a new generation of Mars helicopters. During the tests, engineers reported the rotor blades had reached speeds nearly equal to Mach 1, the speed of sound.

随着火星测试的继续，地面团队一直在试验新的转子叶片。 这些可以在未来与新一代火星直升机一起使用。 在测试过程中，工程师报告说转子叶片的速度几乎等于 1 马赫（音速）。

The blades tested on Earth are made of carbon material and are more than 10 centimeters longer than Ingenuity’s. The blades were designed to be both faster and stronger. NASA has said such rotor blades should be able to support bigger, more complex helicopters. The team said in a statement the helicopter design must reach the right balance. If the blades spin too fast, this causes control issues that can increase the risk of crashes.

在地球上测试的叶片由碳材料制成，比 Ingenuity 的叶片长 10 厘米以上。 刀片设计得更快、更强。 美国宇航局表示，这种旋翼叶片应该能够支持更大、更复杂的直升机。 该团队在一份声明中表示，直升机的设计必须达到适当的平衡。 如果叶片旋转太快，就会导致控制问题，从而增加碰撞风险。

The Earth-based tests were carried out in September inside a space simulator at NASA’s JPL. For these experiments, the simulator aimed to establish a Mars-like environment. The team was measuring tests of the rotor blades with sensors, cameras and other equipment. Many different speeds were tested and the blades were repeatedly repositioned to observe the best results.

地面测试于 9 月份在 NASA 喷气推进实验室的太空模拟器内进行。 对于这些实验，模拟器的目的是建立一个类似火星的环境。 该团队正在使用传感器、摄像机和其他设备对转子叶片进行测量测试。 测试了许多不同的速度，并反复重新定位刀片以观察最佳结果。

“We spun our blades up to 3,500 rpm, which is 750 revolutions per minute faster than the Ingenuity blades have gone,” said Tyler Del Sesto, a leader of the JPL testing. “These more efficient blades are now more than a hypothetical exercise. They are ready to fly,” he added.

JPL 测试负责人 Tyler Del Sesto 表示：“我们将叶片旋转至 3,500 rpm，这比 Ingenuity 叶片的转速每分钟快 750 转。” “这些更高效的刀片现在不仅仅是一个假设的练习。 他们已经准备好起飞了，”他补充道。