Madrid, 8 (Europe Press)

NASA’s Creativity Helicopter on Mars made its first one-way flight from the airport it used on its maiden flight to a new location 129 meters to the south at the Jezero Crater.

On its fifth voyage on the red planet, Ingenuity drifted vertically from its new position, ascending to a record 10 meters height and taking high-resolution color photos of the area before landing.

The flight marks the transition of the helicopter to its new phase of operation view. This phase will focus on investigating the kind of capabilities that a helicopter operating from Mars can provide. Examples include exploration, meteorological observations of areas inaccessible by a rover, and detailed holograms of atmospheric altitudes. These processes and the lessons learned from them could greatly benefit future aerial exploration of Mars and other worlds, according to NASA reports.

The flight began at 7:26 PM UTC on May 7 and lasted 108 seconds. The Ingenuity team chose the new landing site based on information gathered during the previous expedition, the first “aerial exploration” in another world, which allowed them to create digital elevation maps that indicated nearly perfectly flat terrain and virtually unobstructed.

NASA is looking to learn more with Ingenuity about how next-generation helicopter operations could benefit future exploration of the red planet. This new stage will bring additional risks to creativity, with more one-way trips and more precise maneuvers.

After successfully landing at its new airport, Ingenuity will await future instructions, which will be flown in by the Perseverance Wagon, from mission controllers. The agency’s fifth spacecraft to Planet Four is also heading south, toward an area where scientific operations and sample collection will begin. The rover team’s short-term strategy did not require long trips that would leave the helicopter far behind, allowing Ingenuity to continue this operating view.

“We may have two more flights in the next few weeks, and then the agency will assess our performance level. We have already been able to collect all the flight performance data that we originally came here to collect. Now this new demonstration of operations” said Bob Ballaram, chief engineer of the company. Ingenuity Mars Helicopter at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), it’s dedicated to us.It provides the opportunity to expand our knowledge of flying machines to other planets.