ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Space

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter snaps haunting photo of Perseverance rover’s landing gear

From its birds' eye view, Ingenuity is offering precious information.

Mihai AndreibyMihai Andrei
April 28, 2022
in News, Space, Space flight
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

About a year and two months ago, on Feb. 18, 2021, NASA’s Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter both parachuted and landed on Mars. It was a risky and stressful operation — both for the equipment and for the engineers supervising this from Earth — but it succeeded. Now, Ingenuity has photographed the original landing site from above, which could help guide the success of future missions.

Rover’s backshell seen from the air. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Ingenuity has way-way-way surpassed expectations. The mission’s only main goal was to see whether a helicopter could actually fly in the rarefied Martian atmosphere. Then, NASA wanted to see whether it could fly a couple of times. Then, a couple of times more. Now, it’s just roaming Mars along with its land-based rover, Perseverance.

It wasn’t by chance that the helicopter looked at the landing site. The Ingenuity team was asked to aid the joint mission between NASA and the ESA (European Space Agency), which will haul material collected by Perseverance back to Earth. The unique capability of the Ingenuity helicopter can offer valuable information for the planning of this mission.

“NASA extended Ingenuity flight operations to perform pioneering flights such as this,” said Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity’s team lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “Every time we’re airborne, Ingenuity covers new ground and offers a perspective no previous planetary mission could achieve. Mars Sample Return’s reconnaissance request is a perfect example of the utility of aerial platforms on Mars.”

The crash site from up close. Image credits: NASA / JPL.

The images, NASA researchers say, could help make future landings to Mars safer. Perseverance and Ingenuity entered the Martian atmosphere at about 12,500 mph (20,000 kph), using a parachute to slow their descent — but the backshell that carried the parachute still crashed into the surface of the Red Planet at about 78 mph (126 kph). Remarkably, the backshell’s protective coating appears to have remained intact during the atmospheric entry.

By documenting how well these elements survived this process, engineers can tweak and adapt future missions to make them more resilient. We’ve already seen this with the current mission (which greatly benefitted from previous insights), but now, there’s also the added benefit of airborne images.

“Perseverance had the best-documented Mars landing in history, with cameras showing everything from parachute inflation to touchdown,” said JPL’s Ian Clark, former Perseverance systems engineer and now Mars Sample Return ascent phase lead. “But Ingenuity’s images offer a different vantage point. If they either reinforce that our systems worked as we think they worked or provide even one dataset of engineering information we can use for Mars Sample Return planning, it will be amazing. And if not, the pictures are still phenomenal and inspiring.”

RelatedPosts

Sunset on Mars [AMAZING PHOTO]
The past and future of space exploration at the ‘Beyond Planet Earth’ exhibit
That flowing briny water on Mars? It might just be sand
NASA just recorded Mars’ biggest ‘earthquake’ yet. Here’s why this matters

A new operation zone

A panorama of the delta area where Ingenuity will now operate. Image credits: NASA / JPL.

It took a lot of careful maneuvering to reach this position, not just during this flight, but on previous flights as well. Now, Ingenuity is operating in a new area: the Jezero Crater’s dry river delta. Yes, a delta because a river used to run there, which immediately makes it an interesting place for investigation. The delta is several miles wide and fan-shaped, marking the site where the ancient river spilled into a lake that used to fill Jezero Crater.

“We’ve been eyeing the delta from a distance for more than a year while we explored the crater floor,” said Ken Farley, Perseverance project scientist at Caltech in Pasadena. “At the end of our fast traverse, we are finally able to get close to it, obtaining images of ever-greater detail revealing where we can best explore these important rocks.”

Ingenuity will now act as a scout for Perseverance, eyeing which of two dry river channels is easiest to climb to reach the top of the delta. In addition to offering logistics information, Ingenuity will look for the most interesting scientific targets, and may even be used to study geological units from the area. Not bad for a helicopter that was only meant as a proof of concept, eh? 

Tags: ingenuityMars

ShareTweetShare
Mihai Andrei

Mihai Andrei

Dr. Andrei Mihai is a geophysicist and founder of ZME Science. He has a Ph.D. in geophysics and archaeology and has completed courses from prestigious universities (with programs ranging from climate and astronomy to chemistry and geology). He is passionate about making research more accessible to everyone and communicating news and features to a broad audience.

Related Posts

News

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Spotted Driving Across Mars From Space for the First Time

byTibi Puiu
2 weeks ago
Geology

This strange rock on Mars is forcing us to rethink the Red Planet’s history

byTudor Tarita
1 month ago
News

Mars has huge amounts of water hidden beneath its surface — and perhaps life too

byTibi Puiu
2 months ago
News

A Meteor Crashed Into Mars and Sent Shockwaves Racing Across the Planet. It Apparently Happens More Often Than We Thought

byTibi Puiu
2 months ago

Recent news

Scientists Map the DNA of a Creature No One’s Seen in Years

May 11, 2025

AI Would Obliterate the Enigma Code in Minutes—Here’s Why That Matters Today

May 11, 2025

CERN Creates Gold from Lead and There’s No Magic, Just Physics

May 9, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • How we review products
  • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Science News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Space
  • Future
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Physics
      • Matter and Energy
      • Quantum Mechanics
      • Thermodynamics
    • Chemistry
      • Periodic Table
      • Applied Chemistry
      • Materials
      • Physical Chemistry
    • Biology
      • Anatomy
      • Biochemistry
      • Ecology
      • Genetics
      • Microbiology
      • Plants and Fungi
    • Geology and Paleontology
      • Planet Earth
      • Earth Dynamics
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Volcanoes
      • Dinosaurs
      • Fossils
    • Animals
      • Mammals
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Amphibians
      • Reptiles
      • Invertebrates
      • Pets
      • Conservation
      • Animal facts
    • Climate and Weather
      • Climate change
      • Weather and atmosphere
    • Health
      • Drugs
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Human Body
      • Mind and Brain
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Wellness
    • History and Humanities
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • History
      • Economics
      • People
      • Sociology
    • Space & Astronomy
      • The Solar System
      • Sun
      • The Moon
      • Planets
      • Asteroids, meteors & comets
      • Astronomy
      • Astrophysics
      • Cosmology
      • Exoplanets & Alien Life
      • Spaceflight and Exploration
    • Technology
      • Computer Science & IT
      • Engineering
      • Inventions
      • Sustainability
      • Renewable Energy
      • Green Living
    • Culture
    • Resources
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Editorial policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.