Ingenuity, the small drone powered by energy, continues to set new records on its journey to explore Mars. NASA has released detailed footage of this remarkable journey.
Two videos from Ingenuity’s 13th flight were recorded on September 4. In just 16 seconds, Ingenuity moved horizontally nearly 213 meters at an altitude of 8 meters. The Perseverance rover’s camera, equipped with two Mastcam-Z cameras, captured every maneuver of the small aircraft from a distance of 300 meters.
Justin Maki, deputy investigator of the Mastcam-Z device at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, stated: “The value of Mastcam-Z truly shines through these video clips. Even from 300 meters away, we still get a stunning close-up of the takeoff and landing process through the ‘right eye’ of Mastcam-Z. The left eye provides viewers with a good sense of Ingenuity’s surrounding environment.”
NASA scientists had to reprogram Ingenuity to move faster in the thin atmosphere, which occurs during seasonal changes on Mars. The mini helicopter’s navigation system has been automated, integrating artificial intelligence to continuously measure and adjust variables in the environment, such as wind speed and ground elevation below.
“It’s amazing! Thanks to the correction function, we can enhance the accuracy of the model as well as how Ingenuity operates most effectively,” said Håvard Grip, the chief pilot controlling Ingenuity.
Ingenuity helicopter flying on Mars.
During the 13th reconnaissance flight, Ingenuity captured 10 images, including several interestingly shaped rocks on the Martian surface. Ingenuity flew around to locate the rocks and unusual minerals, after which the Perseverance rover would come to study and collect the strange rock samples.
As the solar conjunction ends, a period when the Sun disrupts communication between Earth and Mars, Ingenuity will pause its exploration and return to its original landing site. Although the journey will be quite challenging for the Perseverance rover, Ingenuity’s flying capability makes it quite easy.
