The small helicopter Ingenuity has wetted on his flight over the Mars part of dust and torn, though he was running fun meters high. How easy the material can be high and torn, the researchers on earth have surprised, reports the trade magazine Nature. "This results in an unexpected scientific experiment on atmosphere", Arrest Jim Bell from Arizona State University. Actually, Ingenuity is only a technical demonstration that should be shown that a motor-driven flight on the MARS is possible. In the evaluation of the collected data, however, there are also surprises, explain the researchers and researchers.
Recording of the fourth flight from Ingenuity
Ingenuity was brought to Mars from NASA-Rover Perseverance and completed the historic first motorized flight on another Sky Corper at the end of April. Overall, the helicopter has now flown seven times and placed on the companion of Perseverance. On this is the main attention of the mission again. Together, the two devices are to open up in the direction of a suspected dried riverbed, in which perseverance should look for any traces of former life. Ingenuity is supposed to support him on the way and explore the landscape from the high.
Declaration for dust devils
As the researchers and researchers now learned, while the first flights of stirty dust were observed, but they had not observed them due to the short of the flights. The recordings come from Perseverance, which has filmed from a safe distance. Fourth flight on 30. April then provided for the big surprise, because the videos of Perseverance can be seen that Ingenuity is saluted both on the up and on the backwater in dust. The dust had been torn under the helicopter, explores Chefpilot Håvard Grip to the science magazine. Although his team prepared the helicopter, but it is surprised by the exhaust.
Recording a dustfel of Opportunity
On the basis of the surprising observations to the dust clouds around Ingenuity, then dynamics of atmosphere should now be explored as a whole. Here is therefore mainly about the so-called small pots or dust devils ("Dust Devils"), which are always observed on Mars. These are atmospheric turbulences that the small tornadoes were the same and always observed on the red planet. Actually, the atmosphere is to Dunn there to explain the amounts of dyes that are whirled up. Maybe Ingenuity now helps incidentally to explain that.