Determination Spots Ingenuity at Its Final Airfield: NASAs Perseverance Mars rover captured this mosaic showing the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter at its last airfield on February 4, 2024. The helicopter damaged its rotor blades throughout landing on its 72nd flight on January 18, 2024. The Ingenuity group has actually nicknamed the area where the helicopter completed its final flight “Valinor Hills” after the imaginary location in J.R.R. Tolkiens dream novels, that include “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/ MSSSIngenuitys groundbreaking mission concludes after 72 flights, while Perseverances expedition of Mars enters an interesting phase, concentrating on geological discoveries that might shed light on the worlds ancient history.After 72 flights and 17 kilometers flown, it is finally time for us to say goodbye to the Ingenuity helicopter. It was announced last month that Ingenuitys mission is now pertaining to an end after it sustained damage to a rotor blade on its final flight.Ingenuitys long and incredibly effective journey began 3 years back on the flooring of Jezero Crater and it will end in Neretva Vallis, a channel that when brought water into an ancient lake. Resourcefulness became the very first craft to accomplish regulated and powered flight on another world, offering the science group access to landscapes inaccessible to any rover.This week Perseverance drove within ~ 450 meters of the helicopter, which is likely the closest we will be to our flying companion for the remainder of our objective. We took this opportunity to acquire long-distance images of Ingenuity with our Mastcam-Z instrument.NASAs Mars Perseverance rover got this image utilizing the SuperCam Remote Micro-Imager, situated at the top of the rovers mast. This image was acquired on January 31, 2024 (Sol 1048) at the local mean solar time of 11:31:25. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/ CNES/IRAPWhile Ingenuitys mission has actually reached its conclusion, Perseverance is approaching among the most amazing parts of its objective so far. Perseverance is continuing to check out the margin system, a location on the edge of Jezero Crater with strong signatures of carbonate minerals from orbit.Our group made the many of this newest stretch of surface, taking SuperCam LIBS and VISIR observations of a pitted rock named Porkchop Geyser (see image above) and catching Mastcam-Z images of a rubbly outcrop called Muiron Island (see image below). As the rover makes its way west, we are diligently preparing for what lies ahead.In orbital images of the crater rim we can see huge blocks– so-called megabreccia– which are assumed to originate from the impact that developed Jezero Crater or represent even older rocks ejected from the enormous Isidis Basin to our east.NASAs Mars Perseverance rover got this image using its Right Mastcam-Z electronic camera. Mastcam-Z is a pair of electronic cameras situated high on the rovers mast. This image was acquired on January 28, 2024 (Sol 1045) at the local mean solar time of 10:49:21. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASUWhile it is sad to be leaving Ingenuity behind, the future is brilliant for Perseverance and the science team remains in high spirits. Ahead of us lies the mystical crater rim, which may provide a window into a period of Mars history that no rover has actually ever seen before.Written by Henry Manelski, PhD Student at Purdue University and Nathan Williams, Science Systems Engineer at JPL
