One of NASA's current projects, the Mars Ingenuity helicopter has flown its 46th flight back on February 25th, as announced by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The flight saw the aircraft travel a third of a mile on Mars' surface.
Ingenuity's 46th Flight
The Mars helicopter along with the Perseverance Rover mission finished its latest flight on Saturday. According to an agency official in a flight briefing, the goal was to reposition the helicopter as well as scout future airfields.
The shift was between the airfields "Eta" and "Theta," wherein the aircraft flew for 1,460 feet on the Red Planet's surface. It reached an altitude of 39 feet and a top speed of 11.9 mph. According to Space, the duration of the flight was 135.9 seconds.
Back in February 2022, the Mars helicopter flew underneath the belly of Perseverance in the Jezero Crater, and it is important to note that the Ingenuity was the first ever to fly to Mars. After proving itself operational, the aircraft will be joining Perseverance in its mission.
Originally, the Mars helicopter has a "five-flight manifest," but it has exceeded expectations as it will reach the count of ten times more flights than intended. There are already plans for Ingenuity to fly its 50th flight in the next few weeks.
The Past and the Present of Mars
The ultimate goal of the efforts put into the mission is to find out whether there was a time when life existed on Mars. The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover is used for surface-based studies regarding the Martian environment.
The rover collects samples to study so scientists can see preserved signs of biosignatures in the rocks from ancient Martian environments. It will show if they were formed with conditions that could've allowed microbial life to exist and survive.
The mission allows scientists to characterize the climate of Mars. Using the Mars rover's instruments, evidence of ancient habitable environments where microbial life could have existed in the past can be found, as mentioned by NASA.
The rover is also capable of studying rock records to provide more information about the geological process of the Red Planet. It will show how the Martian crust was created and modified through time.
With the tools that the Perseverance is equipped with, it is able to look for evidence of rocks that formed in water. Since the rock layers of the Martian surface may hold answers, the rover is able to drill deep into the ground to look for it.
The Future of Mars
The rover is "demonstrating key technologies" for using the natural resources that can be found in the Martian environment. Studying will provide more information about life support, fuel, and environmental conditions to understand how to protect future human explorers.
The efforts on Mars will bring human civilization closer to bringing people to Mars in the 2030s. The missions will provide experts with crucial information about the environment as well as test innovative technologies for future human exploration.
