Or, if your inclinations run in a less literal, less accurate instructions, the ground-bound robot was sending out a message of support (or more) to its aerial partner.Video: Watch NASAs Mars helicopter Ingenuity fly in 3DThe car-sized Perseverance rover landed, with Ingenuity connected to its belly, this past February on the floor of Mars Jezero Crater, which harbored a big lake and a river delta in the ancient past. The Perseverance team is looking forward to studying the photos Ingenuity caught on Sundays sortie, which flew over a rugged area called “Séítah,” the helicopters handlers said.” Captured in those images are rock outcrops that reveal contacts in between the major geologic units on Jezero Craters flooring,” Ingenuity chief pilot Håvard Grip and Perseverance deputy task scientist Ken Williford composed in a Flight 9 upgrade on Wednesday (July 7).

Exists something going on between Perseverance and the Mars helicopter Ingenuity?During its latest Red Planet flight on Monday (July 5), NASAs 4-lb. (1.8 kilograms) Ingenuity Mars helicopter photographed a heart-shaped function amongst the tracks made by the six-wheeled Perseverance rover. The “heart” shows where the Perseverance rover took a minor detour, perhaps to investigate some interesting rock or spot of dirt, before going back to its initial course and heading on its method. Or, if your inclinations run in a less actual, less accurate instructions, the ground-bound robotic was sending a message of assistance (or more) to its aerial partner.Video: Watch NASAs Mars helicopter Ingenuity fly in 3DThe car-sized Perseverance rover landed, with Ingenuity connected to its belly, this previous February on the floor of Mars Jezero Crater, which harbored a big lake and a river delta in the ancient past. In early April, the little chopper deployed onto the red dirt, kicking off a month-long, five-flight project created to reveal that aerial exploration is possible on the Red Planet.Ingenuity aced that initial technology-demonstrating mission and was rewarded with an extension, which intends to display the hunting capacity of Mars rotorcraft. For example, the Perseverance group is anticipating studying the photos Ingenuity captured on Sundays sortie, which flew over a rugged region called “Séítah,” the helicopters handlers said.” Captured in those images are rock outcrops that show contacts between the significant geologic units on Jezero Craters floor,” Ingenuity chief pilot Håvard Grip and Perseverance deputy task scientist Ken Williford composed in a Flight 9 upgrade on Wednesday (July 7).” They likewise consist of a system of fractures the Perseverance group calls Raised Ridges, which the rovers researchers wish to go to in part to investigate whether an ancient subsurface habitat might be preserved there,” composed Grip and Williford, both of whom are based at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.” Finally, were hoping the color images will supply the closest look yet at Pilot Pinnacle, an area including outcrops that some staff member believe might tape-record a few of the inmost water environments in old Lake Jezero,” the duo added. “Given the tight mission schedule, its possible that they will not have the ability to go to these rocks with the rover, so Ingenuity may offer the only chance to study these deposits in any detail.” Perseverances main objective objectives involve hunting for signs of ancient Mars life on Jezeros flooring and collecting and caching samples for future go back to Earth. When Ingenuity completed its original technology-demonstrating mission, the rover began focusing on that science work in earnest. (All communications to and from Ingenuity should go through Perseverance.) Ingenuitys extended mission is expected to last a minimum of a few more months, provided the helicopter stays healthy, with a flight roughly every 2 weeks typically during that span. The helicopter group has been pressing Ingenuitys limitations during the prolonged phase, as the most recent flight revealed. On Monday, the copter flew farther (2,051 feet, or 625 meters) and faster (about 11 mph, or 18 kph), and stayed aloft longer (166 seconds), than it ever had before.Mike Wall is the author of “Out There” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; highlighted by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook..