Crushed metal chunks on Mars. This is what NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter has found, which on its journey through Martian lands, ran into the remains of the parachute and the rear casing that protected both robots (Ingenuity and Perseverance) until their landing on Mars.
That other world is Earth
When the spacecraft hit the Martian atmosphere at hypersonic speed, it was protected by a polymer heat shield and a conical aerospace shell. The parachute deployed to further reduce his speed; eventually, the projectile and parachute detached and a rocket-powered cradle hovered above the Martian surface, knocking the rover to the ground before flying to crash at a safe distance. Thus, what looks like a shattered UFO on the dusty ground of Mars is nothing more than the remains of the Perseverance mission when it arrived on Mars in February 2021 after a journey of almost seven months through space.
Ingenuity took the aerial images during its 26th flight to the Red Planet, which took place on the first anniversary of its iconic first flight. The Martian helicopter was originally designed to make only five flights. Importantly, the helicopter must stay ahead of the rover to avoid flying over it or passing it to minimize the worst case of any kind of contact or collision.
NASA said the images have the potential to help ensure safer landings for future spacecraft like the Mars Sample Return Lander, which is part of a multi-mission campaign that would bring Perseverance samples of Martian rocks, atmosphere and sediment to Earth for a more detailed analysis.
The helicopter made its maiden flight on April 19, 2021 , making history as the first controlled powered flight on any planet other than Earth. As a hint, the drone is carrying a small amount of fabric that covered one of the wings of the Wright brothers’ plane, known as the Flyer, during the first controlled powered flight on Earth in 1903.
Reference: NASA / JPL-Caltech
