GODMOTHER Helicopter Mars Ingeniousness it did throw some dust during its first historic flight to the Red Planet, which took place on Monday (April 19th).
The helicopter’s larger companion, the Perseverance rover, saw a cloud of rusty dust generated by high-speed spinning blades, especially during takeoff and landing, according to a tweet released Wednesday (April 21st) by the mission.
“Dust in the wind … on Mars. These improved side-by-side videos from @ NASAPersevere’s Mastcam-Z reveal #MarsHelicopter feathers on takeoff and landing.” is shown on the tweet. “It helps us better understand the Martian wind and how dust moves through the atmosphere of the Red Planet.”
Related: The ingenuity of the Mars helicopter makes the first historic motor flight to another world
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The first flight of ingenuity lasted a total of about 40 seconds, the helicopter spending just under 30 seconds floating above the surface of the Red Planet. The little helicopter has to rotate its blades at about 2,400 revolutions per minute to rise into the thin atmosphere of Mars – hence all the dust it gives.
With a successful first flight completed, the ingenuity team prepares for four more outings over the Red Planet patch, now called the Wright Brothers field.
During these flights, the car-sized Perseverance rover will remain in sight, following his little companion. But because ingenuity is just a technological demonstration, the team has only one month to fly before the Perseverance rover focuses on its main geology and astrobiology mission.
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