NASA Perseverance’s helicopter partner Ingenuity seems to be preparing for its 11th flight. It will be a normal relocation flight and won’t be as ambitious as previous flights. The Ingenuity team is still sharing images that the chopper captured during its last flight, and there are some rocks worth noticing. The rotorcraft recently took a look at an area with rippling sand called “Raised Ridges.” 

Some of the rocks in that area caught Perseverance’s science team’s attention. Kevin Hand is investigating a 3D view of the area. “If you look closely, you can see some curious lines across the surfaces of several rocks. Are these just made by eons of wind and dust blowing over the rocks, or might those features tell the story of water? We just don’t know yet,” he said in a NASA statement.

Seeking signs of ancient life

Perseverance rover landed on Mars’ Jezero Crater because it’s a good spot to look out for signs of ancient microbial life. Astronomers are keen to have a closer look at rocks that might provide clues of Mars’ watery history.

Besides, the Ingenuity chopper has exceeded the expectations of the team. It is the first aircraft to perform a controlled flight on another planet and has now started assisting its rover buddy. The team is evaluating if sending the rover on a multi-day trip to Raised Ridges is safe. It will drill rock and collect samples for a pickup mission later.

Ingenuity isn’t stopping anytime soon

“These aerial previews from Ingenuity provide the kind of actionable data that allow us to whittle down our options and get on with the business of exploring our corner of Mars,” said Ken Williford, Perseverance deputy project scientist.

The helicopter with its previous flight crossed one mile of total distance flown while traveling over the Martian. While one mile doesn’t sound like a huge distance, but NASA only planned the chopper to fly for only a few meters. The rotorcraft wasn’t even planned to cover nearly half as much. The space agency has plans to build more advanced versions of the Ingenuity helicopter for future missions.