NASA’s Ingenuity Helicopter Flies Again Over Mars, Exploring An Ancient River

Ingenuity strikes again with its 31st flight on Mars! This time, NASA’s helicopter takes a chance to explore some ancient Martian ground.

The Perseverance rover, the little helicopter’s companion, has been investigating the remains of a long-dry river delta for the past four to five months. So, Ingenuity’s mission is essential.

Discover all the intriguing details about Ingenuity’s flight.

Ingenuity Sets A New Record

NASA’s Perseverance is looking for evidence of early Martian life and gathering rock samples for eventual departure to Earth. As a little helper, Ingenuity assists the Perseverance team in selecting the most effective driving routes and locating scientifically viable rock targets. What a team!

After completing its first assignment, Ingenuity was immediately given an extension to carry out more precise missions.

Ingenuity’s last flight on September 6 was its first since a 33-second jump on August 20 that only traversed 2m (6.5 feet) of Martian terrain. The primary goals of the August mission were to clean the solar panels on Ingenuity and check that it was still in working order after two months of almost no use.

As seen above, just a glance at the Martian terrain.

Then, the helicopter flew on September 6, covering 97 meters (318 feet) of Martian terrain. The flight explored the remnants of a long-dry river delta that the Perseverance rover has been analyzing for the past five months.

Cool Ingenuity and Perseverance Facts

Perseverance and Ingenuity began their journey back in February 2021. The rover and its companion landed inside the 45-kilometer-wide (28-mile-wide) Jezero Crater. The area could’ve once had a large lake and a river delta.

Since June 11, Ingenuity had been on a break, waiting out the chilly, dusty winter on Jezero’s floor. So, the recent missions were really a blast!

NASA’s plans on Mars are quite ambitious, considering that scientists hope to find essential data about the planet’s watery past. New details should be soon available!