Ingenuity Showcases Martian Landscape in Latest Picture

Ingenuity gives humanity another fantastic peek at Mars' surface.

NASA's little helicopter recently captured a new photo during its mission on Mars, showing what it can still do after surpassing its expected lifespan ten times over.

Experts previously believed that Ingenuity would start breaking down and malfunctioning after its fifth flight.

Ingenuity Martain Landscape Photo Details

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) recently published a photo from Ingenuity's photos of its 51st flight on Twitter on Apr. 25, showcasing Ingenuity's 51st flight and the Martian landscape at the same time.

The photo, which Ingenuity took at an altitude of around 40 ft, also featured a cameo of Ingenuity's partner rover, Perseverance. However, finding the Martian rove is difficult when you don't know what it looks like 40 ft. below you.

Initially, the photo JPL published didn't have much color, to begin with; it featured dull colors that only showcased a dim look at the Martian landscape 40 ft. in the air, per NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover page. The dull colors are due to the white balance Ingenuity's camera applies to its photos, which turns down the intensity of reds.

The image NASA's JPL published has the white balance turned down considerably; the picture now shows the Martian landscape in its original rusty red color and, surprisingly, a blue sky. JPL mentioned that the camera's white balance left the sky looking bluish in some pictures compared to other pictures of the Martian sky in later ones.

Ingenuity's 51st flight isn't the only time it and Perseverance took photos of one another. Space.com reports that the partners have been taking turns snapping photos of one another last week, with one notable example being a photo of Ingenuity from Perseverance that shows a significant amount of Martian dust building up on the helicopter's rotors.

Despite the dust, Ingenuity was still air-worthy to perform its 51st flight, on which it traveled 617 ft. in 136.89 seconds. Its highest flight, which the helicopter achieved on its 49th flight, has Ingenuity go airborne by reaching a top speed of 14.5 mph and a maximum altitude of 52.5 feet., per CBS News.

Mars Ingenuity Facts

NASA's Mars Ingenuity Helicopter is a tough little helicopter. It features four carbon-fiber blades arranged into two rotors that spin in opposite directions at around 2,400 rpm. It also has solar cells and batteries to gather and store energy for its flights and other components, per NASA.

Experts previously believed that Ingenuity could only survive five flights without sustaining damage because of Mars' thin atmosphere, which makes it difficult to achieve enough lift. Martian nights could also reach temperatures as cold as -130 degrees Fahrenheit, which could affect its ability to fly.

Despite these factors, the little helicopter that could manage to fly 51 times since its arrival on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021. According to Theodore Tzanetos, Ingenuity team lead at JPL, Ingenuity had "blown out of the water any sort of metric of success" due to its longevity and flights.

These flights were done not by remote piloting, since Mars is far from Earth, but by pre-programmed flight paths which Ingenuity follows.