NASA’s Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, recently took its first flight after a two-month hiatus due to dust, freezing temperatures, and low power as Jezero Crater experienced winter. Although just a short hop, it marked Ingenuity's 31st flight on Mars, and new colored images taken by the Marscopter make you feel like you are flying along with it.
The flight was to demonstrate that after the Martian winter, Ingenuity is still working well as it makes its way to join Perseverance in the ancient river delta it's exploring.
Now, some of the images snapped have been processed and shared by a member of the Perseverance team back on Earth who uses the pseudonym, Martian Dennis. The colorized images really show what’s it like to be 10 meters (33 feet) above the surface of the planet looking towards the horizon.
As reported in the flight plan, Ingenuity moved about 97 meters (318 feet) over 55.6 seconds reaching a top speed of 4.75 meters (10.6 feet) per second. The helicopter was designed to complete five flights. It has now flown for over 7 kilometers (23,500 feet) and spent almost an hour in the air.
1