April 23, 2024

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Scouts Ridgeline for Perseverance Science Team

Previous images suggest tilted layers of rock in this location of Mars are uncommon (unlike in the world, where plate tectonics and earthquakes cause tilting). The science team will likewise have a chance to compare the Flight 27 pictures of this feature with information gathered by both Ingenuity and Perseverance of an angled ridgeline nicknamed “Artuby” (see image below) in the “South Séítah” area of the crater. Comparing Ingenuitys shots of the two angled ridgelines may help team scientists better comprehend the history of the crater flooring and, possibly, the forces that were at play in this part of Jezero Crater billions of years earlier.
NASAs Perseverance rover took these zoomed-in pictures of a layered outcrop (just listed below center of image) nicknamed “Artuby” on June 17, 2021 (the 116th sol, or Martian Day, of its objective), from a little more than a third of a mile (615 meters) away. This mosaic is made up of 3 images taken by the Remote Microscopic Imager (RMI), part of the rovers SuperCam instrument. Each circular image has a field of view of 37.73 feet (11.50 meters) at this range. The images were integrated utilizing an algorithm that weights the image. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/ CNES/CNRS.
This current science-oriented foray by Ingenuity follows hunting the helicopter carried out to view the backshell and parachute that helped the Perseverance rover safely arrive at Mars with Ingenuity connected to its stubborn belly. Those images have the prospective to help make sure more secure landings for future spacecraft such as the Mars Sample Return Lander, which is part of a multimission project that would bring Perseverances samples of Martian rocks, atmosphere, and sediment back to Earth for in-depth analysis.
More About Ingenuity.
The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was constructed by NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which likewise manages the task for NASA Headquarters. It is supported by NASAs Science Mission Directorate. NASAs Ames Research Center in Californias Silicon Valley and NASAs Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, supplied significant flight performance analysis and technical help during Ingenuitys development. AeroVironment Inc., Qualcomm, and SolAero likewise offered design support and significant vehicle elements. Lockheed Space created and produced the Mars Helicopter Delivery System.
At NASA Headquarters, Dave Lavery is the program executive for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter.
More About Perseverance.
A key goal for Perseverances mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the look for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planets geology and previous climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the very first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).
Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send out spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface area and return them to Earth for thorough analysis.
The Mars 2020 Perseverance objective is part of NASAs Moon to Mars expedition technique, which consists of Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.
JPL, which is handled for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, developed and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.

NASAs Ingenuity Mars Helicopter just recently surveyed an interesting ridgeline near the ancient river delta in Jezero Crater. NASAs Ingenuity Mars Helicopter hunted this ridgeline near the ancient river delta in Jezero Crater due to the fact that it is of interest to Perseverance rover scientists. NASAs Perseverance rover took these zoomed-in images of a layered outcrop (simply listed below center of image) nicknamed “Artuby” on June 17, 2021 (the 116th sol, or Martian Day, of its objective), from a bit more than a third of a mile (615 meters) away. The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was built by NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which likewise manages the job for NASA Headquarters. NASAs Ames Research Center in Californias Silicon Valley and NASAs Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, supplied considerable flight performance analysis and technical support throughout Ingenuitys advancement.

Animation showing NASAs Ingenuity helicopter flying on Mars. Credit: NASA
The rotorcraft provided rover researchers an aerial perspective of an interesting rocky outcrop.
NASAs Ingenuity Mars Helicopter recently surveyed an interesting ridgeline near the ancient river delta in Jezero Crater. The images, which were recorded on April 23, 2022, during the small helicopters 27th flight, were taken at the demand of the Perseverance Mars rover science group. They desired to get a better look at the sloping outcrop.
” Ingenuity not just offers images from an aerial perspective, but allows our group to be 2 places at the same time on Mars,” said Ken Farley of Caltech, Perseverances task scientist. “Sending the rover to survey and possibility in one location while introducing the helicopter to survey another numerous meters away is a great time-saver. It can likewise assist us check out areas the rover will never ever go to, as in this case.”
Since it is of interest to Perseverance rover scientists, NASAs Ingenuity Mars Helicopter searched this ridgeline near the ancient river delta in Jezero Crater. Enlarged at right is a close-up of one of the ridgelines rocky outcrops. The image was caught on April 23, during the rotorcrafts 27th flight. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The ridgeline, which the science team calls “Fortun Ridge” after a parish in Norway, is a geologic feature of interest since data collected from orbit, and at a distance by Perseverance, suggests it is the limit in between the two major rock units on the crater flooring.