The flight course for Ingenuitys ninth flight.

The Séítah area on Mars, filled with rocks and sand dunes, was too treacherous for NASAs Perseverance rover to drive across. So Ingenuity, the small helicopter accompanying the rover, flew over the location on Monday and snapped some photos of a crucial area on the other side. In less than 3 minutes, Ingenuity spared Perseverance the months it would have had to invest driving to take its own pictures.
The quick Monday early morning hurdle Séítah was Ingenuitys ninth flight on Mars up until now, but it marked the very first time the chopper lent an assisting hand to Perseverance in its hunt for ancient indications of life at the Red Planets Jezero Crater. The four-pound helicopter arrived on Mars on February 14th, connected to Perseverances underside, and became the very first object to take powered flight on another world on April 19th. Its initial set of flights functioned as significantly complex practice tests to demonstrate how off-world rotorcraft can buzz around locations that wheeled rovers cant go.
” This was a huge leap– huge leap– in regards to what weve done prior to.”
However on Monday, NASA engineers pushed Ingenuitys limitations even more than ever. In 166 seconds, Ingenuity flew approximately 11mph for practically a half-mile, or 2,050 feet– a far higher range than its newest flight in June, which tallied 525 feet. The copter buzzed around various corners of Séítah and snapped images of its borders, where points between various rock developments– called contacts, in geology lingo– produce a few of the most clinically intriguing targets in Perseverances hunt for fossilized microbial life.
” This was a big leap– huge leap– in terms of what weve done prior to. We went between sites that were 620, 625 meters apart, which is huge compared to what weve done before,” Ingenuity chief pilot Harvard Grip said in an interview. Ingenuitys pictures, expected in the coming days after taking a trip down a postponed Mars-to-Earth information pipeline, will help engineers at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory choose whether to send Perseverance on a course to scoop up rock samples because particular contact area.
The objective is “developed to be high danger, high benefit, so that indicates it makes sense for us to take those additional dangers due to the fact that of the potential benefit,” Grip stated.

Image: NASA/ JPL

Ingenuity, initially designed to fly on brief journeys from point A to B, dipped into one of Séítahs worn down craters, slowed its speed, then ascended up slopes for the very first time while dancing along a zig-zagged path. No accidents occurred, and Ingenuity successfully reached the targeted rock formation on the other side of Séítah.
” Lets go big, and lets take a risk and get throughout Séítah”
” This was the first time where we really stated, Lets go big, and lets take a danger and get across Séítah, which we understand is an extremely tough surface for a rover to traverse,” Ken Williford, deputy job scientist for the Perseverance mission, stated in an interview.
Sending a small drone throughout a possibly hazardous field of thick sand to hunt for cool Mars rocks is a big time-saver for the Perseverance team. “When scientists can get those images of that contact early, we can start the science process much earlier than we would otherwise, and start to make observations and analyses and understand what those rocks are,” Williford says.

A picture of Séítah, taken by Ingenuity in May during its 6th flight. More recent pictures of Séítah from the helicopters ninth flight werent right away offered.

Image: NASA/ JPL

The rover has its own video cameras, mostly designed to evaluate nearby rocks and Martian landscapes. And sensing units aboard NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, a satellite roughly 155 miles above Mars surface area, provide the Perseverance group images of far-off rock targets however lack the close-up information a helicopter like Ingenuity can supply.
The helicopter was set for retirement after its very first five flight demonstrations to let the Perseverance team concentrate on its own work. But after Ingenuity aced its 4th flight in late April, engineers chose to broaden the crafts objective on Mars to show how helicopters might assist future rovers conduct science. A few of Ingenuitys midflight pictures taken during test flights were hassle-free for Perseverance scientists, but Mondays flight marked the very first time that it removed with a sole mission to help the rovers science team.
” A very distinct interaction” between Perseverance and Ingenuity groups
NASA management approved Ingenuitys mission growth on the condition that it doesnt interfere or annoy with Perseverances core mission, Williford stated. A little “user interface” team integrating engineers from Perseverance and Ingenuity, serving as the operational glue between the two missions, has considering that been broadened to include Perseverance researchers as Ingenuity shows itself more scientifically useful than anticipated.
” This has been a really special interaction, where I can enter there and state, You know what would be so fantastic? Is if we might overcome here, and after that to hear Bob Balaram [Ingenuitys primary engineer] state, Yeah, lets do it! and actually pressing his team to go further,” said Williford, who also works as the director of JPLs Astrobiogeochemistry Laboratory. “Its been among one of the most fun things that Ive ever done, truly. Working with those engineers and a few other researchers to prepare these flights, I feel like a 12-year-old kid once again, honestly.”

The quick Monday early morning jump across Séítah was Ingenuitys ninth flight on Mars so far, however it marked the very first time the chopper lent a helping hand to Perseverance in its hunt for ancient signs of life at the Red Planets Jezero Crater. Ingenuitys images, expected in the coming days after taking a trip down a postponed Mars-to-Earth data pipeline, will assist engineers at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory choose whether to send Perseverance on a path to scoop up rock samples in that particular contact area.
Some of Ingenuitys midflight photos taken throughout test flights were convenient for Perseverance scientists, however Mondays flight marked the first time that it took off with a sole mission to help the rovers science group.
NASA leadership authorized Ingenuitys objective expansion on the condition that it doesnt interfere or irritate with Perseverances core mission, Williford stated. A small “interface” team integrating engineers from Perseverance and Ingenuity, serving as the functional glue between the 2 missions, has considering that been broadened to include Perseverance researchers as Ingenuity proves itself more clinically beneficial than expected.