NASA's helicopter will soon enter some dangerous terrain.
The land in the Jezero Crater is filled with jagged cliffs, sloped surfaces, projecting boulders, and sand-filled pockets that could stop a rover in its tracks.
It has to fly there first.
The space agency released an image from a trip across this terrain, captured in midair using Ingen.
A view of a portion of the Jezero Crater called the "Séítah" Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASU
The image shows sand in the foreground and hills beyond. You can see the helicopter's shadow on the bottom of the frame, and a glimpse of the ball-like end of one of its legs on the upper left side of the image.
The Ingenuity helicopter has exceeded expectations. NASA wanted to prove that it could fly on Mars. The helicopter has flown over 21 times, and its next journey is expected to span 1,150 feet, while avoiding a hill.
The upcoming flight will be the 22nd entry in the Ingenuity pilot's logbook. I'm going to need a second book at the rate we're going.
The Perseverance rover will be accompanied by a helicopter on a journey through the dry river delta, a place planetary scientists suspect once teemed with water. The mission is looking for evidence that primitive organisms once lived on Mars.
There is no proof of life beyond Earth.
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