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Without Ingenuity, visible in silhouette at the bottom of this next image, the scientists at Perseverance would never have been able to see this section of Séítah so clearly: it is too sandy for Perseverance to visit. The unique view offers enough detail to inspect these rocks and gain a better understanding of this area of the Jezero crater.
As the rover makes its way around the dune field, it can do what the team calls a “toe dip” in some scientifically compelling locations with interesting bedrock. While Toupet and his team wouldn’t attempt to dive here, recent Ingenuity footage will allow them to plan potential dive paths in other regions along the route of Perseverance’s first science campaign.
“The helicopter is an extremely valuable asset for rover planning as it provides high resolution images of the terrain we want to cross,” Toupet said. “We can better assess the size of the dunes and where the bedrock is emerging. This is great information for us; this helps identify areas the rover can pass through and whether some high value science targets are achievable.
Learn more about the mission
A key focus of Perseverance’s mission to Mars is astrobiology, including looking for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the past geology and climate of the planet, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (shattered rock and dust).
Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples on the surface and return them to Earth for further analysis.
The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s Moon-to-Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.
JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, Calif., Built and manages the operations of the Perseverance rover.
The Ingenuity Mars helicopter was built by JPL, which also manages the technology demonstration project for NASA Headquarters. It is supported by the Science, Aeronautical Research and Space Technology mission directions of NASA. NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California, and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, provided significant flight performance analysis and technical support during the development of Ingenuity. AeroVironment Inc., Qualcomm and SolAero also provided design assistance and major components of the vehicle. Lockheed Martin Space designed and manufactured the Mars Helicopter Delivery System.
JPL manages the MRO mission for the NASA Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The University of Arizona, Tucson operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado.
To find out more about Perseverance:
mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/
nasa.gov/perseverance
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