The Ingenuity mini-helicopter, which serves as the rover Perseverance’s Mars Scout, captured a 3D view of the rock-covered mound. The first on the Red Planet.
The Mars Ingenuity Helicopter is used to help the Perseverance Exploration Mission rover team explore in more detail and find samples of unusual or interesting Martian rocks. Small experimental machine weighing only two kg gave excellent results So much so that his mission lasted longer than expected. It was during his 13th flight that the tiny flying Scout Tried shooting in 3D.
First image of Martian soil seen with 3D glasses
This photo taken on September 4 shows a mound covered with rock about 10 meters wide, about 8 meters high, which is lower than in previous photos from the helicopter. It is a composite image, ie. that it is made by combining two photographs taken at a distance of 5 meters from each other With Ingenuity’s color camera, then processed into red and green.
By overlapping these two images to form a stereoscopic image, makes it possible to view them with 3D glasses, then provides the observer with a three-dimensional view of the rock mound. The image was taken in an area of the Jezero de Mars crater known as the “South Sittah” region. The photo specifically shows sand waves that are common in the region. The geology of the Red Planet is particularly studied and researchers have recently proved that Mars went through very intense volcanic activity several hundred million years ago.
Will the Ingenuity Helicopter be able to take more 3D pictures of Mars?
NASA has recently warned that with the change of seasons on Mars it will be more and more difficult to fly Ingenuity, which means low atmospheric density. To counter this phenomenon, mission engineers hope to increase the speed of the helicopter’s rotor to allow it to maintain its capability.
Simplicity is an essential element for the success of the main objective of the Mars exploration mission Perseverance. Its aim is to achieve success in Astrobiology, by identifying signs of microbial life on the ground and in rocks that may have been present on the Red Planet in the past.
Source: NASA