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Particles from the Perseverance rover’s touchdown captured by the Ingenuity helicopter from an altitude of 26 toes. | Supply: NASA/JPL
NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter noticed the Perseverance Rover’s parachute and cone-shaped backshell from the rover’s descent to Mars. Ingenuity got here throughout the particles throughout Flight 26 on April 19, 2022.
Perseverance’s 70.5 foot broad parachute helped the rover land on Mars after making its approach by the Martian ambiance at almost 12,500 mph. The rover hit the floor of Mars at 78 mph, with safety from its backshell. Perseverance imaged the particles from a distance earlier this month, however Ingenuity’s photos present extra element.
“NASA prolonged Ingenuity flight operations to carry out pioneering flights akin to this,” Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity’s group lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, stated. “Each time we’re airborne, Ingenuity covers new floor and provides a perspective no earlier planetary mission may obtain. Mars Pattern Return’s reconnaissance request is an ideal instance of the utility of aerial platforms on Mars.”
Ingenuity’s photos may assist NASA engineers guarantee secure landings for future spacecrafts, just like the Mars Pattern Return Lander. The Perseverance rover is tasked with gathering rock samples from Mars, which is able to ultimately be returned to Earth. The Pattern Return Lander will probably be despatched to Mars to retrieve the samples.
The photographs Ingenuity captured present the rover’s backshell, with it’s protecting coating showing intact, and parachute. The picture additionally reveals among the 80 high-strength suspension strains that join the backshell to the parachute, a lot of which seem intact as effectively. Whereas solely a portion of the parachute could be seen, it additionally reveals no indicators of harm.
“Perseverance had the best-documented Mars touchdown in historical past, with cameras displaying the whole lot from parachute inflation to landing,” Ian Clark, former Perseverance methods engineer and now Mars Pattern Return ascent part lead, stated. “However Ingenuity’s photos supply a special vantage level. In the event that they both reinforce that our methods labored as we predict they labored or present even one dataset of engineering info we are able to use for Mars Pattern Return planning, it will likely be superb. And if not, the photographs are nonetheless phenomenal and galvanizing.”
Perseverance started its journey on Mars in February, 2021. It cored its first rock in September 2021 and picked up two samples from it. The rover is a 2022 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award winner for the achievement.
Connected to the stomach of the Perseverance rover was the Ingenuity Helicopter, which touched down on Mars in April 2021. Ingenuity was the primary ever helicopter to be despatched to a different planet. It was despatched as a know-how demonstration to check the primary powered flight on Mars. The helicopter is at the moment exploring the Jezero Crater’s dry river delta on the crimson planet.
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