The discovery was made during the 33rd flight of the Ingenuity helicopter, which took place no earlier than Sol 567. This concept is the Martian equivalent of Earth’s solar day. In our day, NASA’s helicopter flight took place after September 24.
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A mysterious object recorded on Mars. He got stuck in the helicopter leg
The researchers observed a mysterious phenomenon in the camera footage of a Martian helicopter. A mysterious piece of paper-like object has been spotted on one of the drone’s legs. The video shows that after a while it falls off the drone’s landing gear.
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The researchers describe the fragment of the object captured in the video as “foreign object debris” (FOD). The research began to discover its origins. Telemetry data from the helicopter does not indicate that the encounter with the mysterious object resulted in damage to the plane.
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The remains of a small alien object were captured in the navigation camera footage of a Martian helicopter during its 33rd flight. The FODs were not visible in the video of the previous flight – a NASA spokesperson pointed out.
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NASA Martian Mission. Rock samples will be sent to Earth in the future
The flight of the Martian Ingenuity helicopter lasted only 55 seconds. During this time, the machine covered 111 meters. The camera that captured the mysterious object is located at the bottom of the drone.
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The Mars helicopter is part of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission. After the Perseverance rover landed on the surface of Mars on February 18, 2021, the drone was disconnected several days later. It performs independent flights with a propeller and sends photos and flight data to the rover. Ingenuity is used to detect objects of interest on Mars and plan the best route for a Mars rover.
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The Perseverance rover focuses on exploring the Martian Jezero Crater, where a lake once stood in the distant past. During the mission, samples of Martian rocks are collected which will be sent to Earth in the future. The rover will take more than 3 years to cover the return route, which is approximately 120 million km.
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See also: Dunes on Mars. NASA publishes an extraordinary photo
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