On March 21, the Ingenuity drone helicopter made another successful flight. It has already become the 48th for a rotorcraft.
The #MarsHelicopter lands another flight!
Ingenuity successfully completed Flight 48 yesterday. The rotorcraft reached an altitude of 39 ft (12 meters) and traveled 1,305 ft (398 meters) for 149.9 seconds. https://go.nasa.gov/2U43zuH pic.twitter.com/oAl9ZZwx1f— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) March 22, 2023
The new Ingenuity flight lasted 149.9 seconds. In its course, it covered a distance of 398 meters. The maximum speed of the drone was 4.65 m/s, height — 12 meters.
The purpose of the 48th flight was to move the drone to a new position and pave the way for the Perseverance rover. Some time ago, Ingenuity overtook the rover. Now it is moving in front of it, performing the role of an aerial scout. Specialists analyze the pictures taken by Ingenuity for potential dangers to Perseverance, and then build its route.
After completing its 48th flight, Ingenuity landed on the edge of the 900-meter Belva crater. Its bottom is covered with sand dunes. In the future, this shock formation may become a new target for a Martian helicopter.
Earlier we talked about how Perseverance photographed the takeoff of Ingenuity.
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