A helicopter the size of a small drone landed on Mars on February 18 together with the rover Perseverance, but it has a separate program. It is not equipped with scientific instruments and the only task is to test whether flying devices will be usable in future examinations of the surface of extraterrestrial bodies. The machine has so far exceeded all scientists’ expectations.
During her last flight on Monday, Ingenuity flew 450 meters, which is the most so far. She held in the Martian air for three minutes without eleven seconds, which is also her record performance.
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While in previous years the helicopter had followed the route before Perseverance, this time it made a round trip. He collected detailed terrain information for his companion on the surface of Mars, including color shots. These will help the scientific team on Earth to choose the most suitable path not only for a safe procedure, but also for the selection of interesting targets for research and sampling.
Was there life on Mars?
Perseverance’s mission includes finding signs of possible past, not present, life on Mars and gathering data on the planet’s climate and geology. The rover is therefore to collect samples of rocks and dust that should be transported to Earth sometime in the future.
The first sampling failed last week. However, according to NASA, this was not caused by problems with the equipment or software of the machine, but by the excessive fineness of the material. Data transmitted to Earth showed that the action went as intended, but no material entered the sample storage tube. Subscriptions will continue at other locations.
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