Sent to planet Mars to fly in the thin atmosphere of the red planet, the helicóptero Ingenuity ended up extending its mission and has provided precious data to the team of rover Perseverance. Now, photos of the aircraft’s ninth flight, carried out last week (5), have revealed images considered “intriguing” by the team at NASA in the land.
The photos sent by Ingenuity allow us to establish unprecedented insights into the exact extension of rock layers, as if each of these formations were a time capsule, showing in a concrete way the climate changes on the planet’s surface. The flight also revealed obstacles to be overcome when exploring the Jezero crater.
Taken from a height of about 10 meters, Ingenuity’s color images are able to show certain details more precise than the photos sent by the orbiter Mars Reconnaissance, which are normally used to establish routes to be followed on Mars. While the orbiter camera, a HiRISE, details rocks from a meter in diameter, the helicopter photos are more accurate.
Why are Ingenuity photos important?
“Raised Ridges”, the high peaks (Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Courtesy)Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech
In a statement posted on NASA’s website, Perseverance project scientist Ken Williford of Jata Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), explained that as soon as the rover approaches a certain location to be explored, “we obtain ground-scale images that we can compare with orbital images”. With the arrival of Ingenuity, it is being possible to obtain images in an intermediate scale, to complete the resolution.
In this sense, Ingenuity gave a show of images with high resolution, showing several Martian reliefs, from the so-called “Raise Ridges”, something like high ridges, to an extensive dune field, in a region of the crater of Jezero called “Séítah”. These knee-deep sand regions are a constant concern for rover drivers, who fear the vehicle will stall.
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