[U: Success!] I Love What This Approach Teaches Kids, About STEM/Science: Some Times You Should "Just Give It A Try" -- Take A Risk.

. . .Mars, a coal of fire is rising,

Rising slowly in the [Spring's] twilight sky
Fierce she glows beyond the pine trees,
With a redness all her own,
Rising lonely, [in] the night breeze. . .

She stirs the branches, with a moan. . . .


-- Catherine Cate Coblentz,
Mars Hill, Lowell Observatory
Flagstaff, Arizona 1924

By 3:30 AM EDT, or in about six hours, in still sub-zero Martian midday sun, Ingenuity will attempt a short hop liftoff and landing.

If the pre-set software limiter again kicks in (preventing a full-speed, liftoff capable delivery of thrust) -- and prevents this, the team will just. . . try again in a few days.

In sum -- they are saying. . . "let's give it a go." Here's the full team blog entry, and a bit:

. . .At 12:31 a.m. PDT on Monday, April 19, 2021, the Ingenuity helicopter team is going to attempt the first ever powered, controlled flight on another planet. We are optimistic that the helicopter will be able to take off from the Martian surface at this time; however, this is a test and we are prepared that it may not occur. Let me explain.

Ingenuity is a technology experiment. As such, our plan is to push the envelope and learn by doing. We take risks that other missions cannot, weighing each step carefully. . . .

We also know that if the first attempt does not work on Monday, we can try these commands again, with good probability that subsequent tries in the days following would work even if the first doesn’t. For these reasons, we’ve chosen to pursue this path. . . .

Our team considers Monday’s attempted first flight like a rocket launch: We’re doing everything we can to make it a success, but we also know that we may have to scrub and try again. In engineering, there is always uncertainty, but this is what makes working on advanced technology so exciting and rewarding. We have to continually innovate and develop solutions to new challenges. And we get to try things others have only dreamed of. . . .

By about 6:30 AM EDT, the first data -- as to whether we've achieved the first ever powered flight, and re-landing, on another world. . . will begin to arrive, via a live-stream at NASA, here below. Check in if you are up in the luminous but clearing dawn tomorrow. I know I will.

नमस्ते