The laboratory announced on the Internet two days apart that the ninth flight took place on Monday. The project team eagerly awaited data from Mars on the planned test, and with relief and enthusiasm welcomed the information that the Ingenuity was OK after completing the journey over the challenging terrain, 625 meters long. At the same time, it lasted a record 166 seconds in the air and developed a top speed of 18 kilometers per hour.
An exceptional flight
However, according to the IPL, the ninth year differed from the previous ones mainly in that the helicopter had to overcome terrain in an area called Séítah, which is difficult to overcome for a ground vehicle such as the rover Perseverance, with which the Ingenuity landed on Mars on February 18.
The flight was designed to provide a first look at major targets that Perseverance will not be able to reach for some time, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory said.
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Perseverance and Ingenuity have their own programs. The helicopter is not equipped with scientific instruments, its only task is to test the possibility of using similar flying devices in the future when examining the surface of extraterrestrial bodies.
The robotic rover’s mission includes searching for signs of possible past, not present, life on Mars, collecting data on the planet’s climate and geology, and collecting samples of rocks and dust that should be transported to Earth sometime in the future.
According to JPL, Ingenuity will send color photos to Earth next week. These images should capture rock locations showing contacts between large geological formations at the bottom of the Jezero crater. It is in the area of this crater selected for landing that Perseverance will search for signs of possible ancient life on Mars. According to scientists, there used to be a lake and a river delta.
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