An aerial survey of a section of Mars by NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter has revealed “beyond” images of the conical hind shell that protected the research robot during its fiery descent to the Martian surface on February 18, 2021.
Entering, descending and landing on Mars is a challenge for any mission, as vehicles withstand extreme gravitational forces, high temperatures and pressure changes when entering the atmosphere of Mars at nearly 20,000 km / h (12,500 miles per hour).
While NASA’s Perseverance rover had the best-documented landing on Mars, with cameras showing everything from parachuting to touchdown, and the rover also depicted parachute debris and a black shell earlier, scientists say the new images from the helicopter provide more details and a “different point of view”.
“If they either confirm that our systems worked the way we think they do, or even provide a set of engineering data that we can use to plan the return of samples from Mars, that would be amazing. And if not, the photos are still phenomenal and inspiring, “said Ian Clark, who worked on Perseverance’s parachute system.
“It simply came to our notice then. It radiates beyond, doesn’t it? ” Dr Clark of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) told The New York Times.
Aerial photographs of the rear shell and debris from its impact on the Martian surface at about 126 km / h (78 mph) suggest that its protective coating remained intact when the spacecraft entered the atmosphere.
“Many of the 80 high-strength suspension lines connecting the rear shell to the parachute are visible and also appear intact,” NASA said.
While only a third of the parachute can be seen in the new images, NASA scientists say the canopy shows no signs of damage from supersonic airflow during inflation.
They say the images have taken many pre-planned flights and careful helicopter maneuvers, adding that it will take “several weeks of analysis” for a final verdict on the wreckage.
“Ingenuity did a lot of maneuvers to get the shots we needed, but we were confident because there were complex maneuvers on flights 10, 12 and 13. Our landing site set us up well to present an area of interest for the science of perseverance. flight crew 2, near the Séítah ridge, ”said Howard Grip, chief pilot of Ingenuity at JPL.
Scientists say that this new area of action of the helicopter in the dry river delta of the crater Jezero on Mars is a dramatic departure from the “modest, relatively flat” terrain over which the helicopter flew since its first flight.
“Rising more than 130 feet (40 meters) above the bottom of the crater and filled with jagged rocks, sloping surfaces, protruding rocks and sand-filled pockets, the delta promises to have many geological discoveries – perhaps even proof that Mars is “Microscopic life existed billions of years ago,” NASA said.
The data provided by the helicopter would help the Perseverance team assess potential scientific targets for its rover to explore, and will also offer route planning assistance.
NASA says Ingenuity could even be used to depict geological objects that are too far away for the Perseverance rover to reach.
Scientists say the helicopter could also be useful for reconnaissance of landing areas and places on the Martian surface where sample caches can be deposited for NASA’s proposed Mars sample return program.
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