NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State University
Back in early September little ingenuity The helicopter that NASA sent to Mars with determination The explorer has made his thirteenth voyage on the Red Planet.
It was a technically demanding ride, cutting nearly 210 meters through rocky terrain inaccessible to vehicles. ingenuity It reached a maximum altitude of about 8 meters before landing safely again. But what really makes this trip special is determination He is able to track helicopter takeoffs and flights.
Images from this flight were recently sent back to Earth, and the Mars rover at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has gathered data into a video that shows nearly the entire flight. This shot puts on the best show we’ve ever seen ingenuity Fly over the surface of Mars.
Enlarge View ingenuityFlight number 13 on Mars.
during flight, ingenuity About 300 meters from the rover. But luckily determination He has the most sophisticated pair of eyes ever sent to Mars. Located atop the rover, the “Mastcam Z” instrument – the letter “Z” stands for zoom – has two cameras designed to provide the clearest images of Mars and allow 3D images.
The non-zoomed shot shows this contrast well, with ingenuity They only appear as small dots in the distance.
After this trip in September ingenuity Taking things a little easier. It stops for about six weeks during the Sun’s conjunction with Mars, when the Red Planet and Earth are on either side of the Sun, making communication difficult. ingenuityThe company’s engineers also had to deal with problems affecting the helicopter’s tiny flight control engines, and then the light atmosphere during winter on Mars.
Wide angle video of the thirteenth flight.
To make up for the thinner atmosphere, ingenuity He had to prove that he could spin his sword faster than designed. After a short test flight in late October, ingenuity Make a winning comeback November 6 with a 407-meter flight across the winter surface of Mars, rising to a height of 12 meters. The next flight, the 16th autonomous helicopter, could take place as soon as Saturday.
The mission planners didn’t know how long the valiant car would last, as it was much older than its design, so they just enjoyed the ride. Thanks to this new video, we can too.
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