Born to fly đ !
#Ingenuity can't sit still at a place for too long. And if #Perseverance is tied up with its rocky business, the #MarsHelicopter can try some new tricks without moving too far, or at all đ
#Flight59 is coming up on Saturday, Sep 16, and it will be a popup flight up to a 20m altitude, another first! The previous record was 18m, #Flight50.
Here is the announcement: https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/status/480/flight-59-preview-by-the-numbers/
#Ingenuity had a chance to glance inside Belva Crater at the end of #Flight50, just before landing. The RTE images showing the area may prove valuable for the team to plan its route through the rugged terrain.
The animation shows my guess for approaching that area. Processing of the RTE image is unfortunately rather poor.
HELI_RTE
Sol: 763, RMC: 0.None, LMST: 15:07:04
Original: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020-raw-images/pub/ods/surface/sol/00763/ids/edr/browse/heli/HSF_0763_0734685063_495ECM_N0500001HELI00009_000085J01.png
Credit: #NASA/JPL-Caltech/65dBnoise
#Flight50 of #Ingenuity is now an historic fact! đ!
Kudos to Bob Balaram's team that designed it and to the team that operates it so successfully!
#Perseverance arrived on site less than 30 minutes before initiating the flight:
End-of-drive time: 14:38:59 LMST
Flight 50 time: 15:07:25 LMST
The #MarsHelicopter approached its 50th airfield oriented with its visible legs in front, while it had previously landed in the opposite orientation. This may indicate that
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#Perseverance changed its site number to 38, presumably after moving to a new location, possibly on the plateau where #Ingenuity waits to take off for its Silver #Flight50.
Quick mosaic, processed, undistorted NAVCAM_RIGHT
Sol: 763, RMC: 38.0000, LMST: 14:43:39
Original: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020-raw-images/pub/ods/surface/sol/00763/ids/edr/browse/ncam/NRF_0763_0734683619_784ECM_N0380000NCAM03763_07_195J01.png
Credit: #NASA/JPL-Caltech/65dBnoise
While waiting for news from #Ingenuity's Silver #Flight50, here is a version of its #Flight47 movie captured by #Perseverance on Sol 729. This version zooms in and follows the #MarsHelicopter while it flies across the fixed field-of-view of the rover's MastcamZ camera.
Processed MCZ_RIGHT, FL: 34mm
Sol: 729, RMC: 36.0000, LMST: 16:07:03
Original: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020-raw-images/pub/ods/surface/sol/00729/ids/edr/browse/zcam/ZR0_0729_0731670427_773EBY_N0360000ZCAM01529_0340LMJ01.png
Credit: #NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/65dBnoise
65dBnoise