NASA releases most detailed video of Ingenuity helicopter's flight on Mars; WATCH

NASA has released the most detailed view of the Ingenuity Mars rotorcraft in action through a video shot by the Perseverance rover. The video is from Ingenuity’s 13th flight on the red planet in early September and the rover was able to capture the moment via its Mastcam-Z, a pair of zoomable cameras mounted atop. Currently, the rotorcraft is preparing for its 16th flight, which will be conducted no earlier than November 20, according to NASA. Check out the video below to witness what goes on the red planet when you’re not looking. 

The above video is from the flight when Ingenuity ascended to 26 feet (8 meters) and was air-borne for 160.5-seconds in what was the most complicated flight, says NASA. The scientists flew the rotorcraft through varied terrain within the “Séítah” geological feature and took images of an outcrop from multiple angles for investigations. While all this was happening, one camera of the Mastcam-Z of Perseverance the rotorcraft's flight profile while the other captured the takeoff and landing in closeup. Justin Maki, deputy principal investigator for the Mastcam-Z instrument at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said as per NASA,

The value of Mastcam-Z really shines through with these video clips. Even at 300 meters away, we get a magnificent closeup of takeoff and landing through Mastcam-Z’s ‘right eye.’ And while the helicopter is little more than a speck in the wide view taken through the ‘left eye,’ it gives viewers a good feel for the size of the environment that Ingenuity is exploring.

In the video, Ingenuity can be seen taking off after kicking off a plume of dust and climbing to an altitude of 26 feet. Using the thrust of the rotors, Ingenuity then moves horizontally through the thin Martian air and then returns to land in the vicinity of its take-off spot. The Ingenuity team this time targeted a different landing spot, about 39 feet (12 meters) from the take-off spot, to avoid a ripple of sand it landed on following the completion of Flight 12.

Ingenuity's 15th flight

Earlier this month, Ingenuity nailed its 15th flight on the red planet when it flew for 128.8 seconds at a speed of about 17 kmph. The helicopter has a number of flights planned ahead as it is returning to the Wright Brothers Field at the Octavia E. Butler landing site where it took its first Martian flight ever.  

Image: Twitter/@NASAJPL