NASAs Mars Helicopter Ingenuity really caused a stir during its historic maiden flight on the Red Planet, which took place on Monday (April 19).
The helicopter’s larger companion, the Perseverance rover, saw the cloud of rusty dust generated by the high-speed spinning blades, especially during takeoff and landing, according to a tweet posted Wednesday (April 21) by the mission’s account. published.
“Dust in the Wind … on Mars. These enhanced side-by-side videos from @ NASAPersevere’s Mastcam-Z reveal plumes of #MarsHelicopter on takeoff and landing,” read the tweet. “It helps us better understand the Martian wind and how dust travels through the Red Planet’s atmosphere.”
Related: Mars helicopter Ingenuity makes historic first powered flight on another world
Join our Mars talk!
Join our forums here to discuss the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter on Mars. What do you hope they find?
Ingenuity’s maiden flight took about 40 seconds in total, with the helicopter hovering just under 30 seconds above the surface of the Red Planet. The small helicopter has to spin its blades at about 2,400 revolutions per minute to lift itself into the rarefied atmosphere of Mars – hence all the dust it lifts up.
Now that a successful maiden flight has been completed, the Ingenuity team is preparing for no less than four flights over the area of the Red Planet now called Wright Brothers Field.
During these flights, the car-sized Perseverance rover will remain on its lookout and keep an eye on its little companion. But because Ingenuity is just a technology demonstration, the team only has a month to flee before the Perseverance rover needs to focus on its main geology and astrobiology mission.
Email Meghan Bartels at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @meghanbartels. follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.