The 4-lb. (1.8 kilograms) chopper's 10th Red Planet flight could happen as early as Saturday (July 24), NASA officials said during a news conference o

Mars helicopter Ingenuity gearing up for 10th Red Planet flight this weekend

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2021-07-23 18:30:05

The 4-lb. (1.8 kilograms) chopper's 10th Red Planet flight could happen as early as Saturday (July 24), NASA officials said during a news conference on Wednesday (July 21).

The sortie will investigate "Raised Ridges," they added. Raised Ridges is a collection of rock features inside Mars' Jezero Crater from which Ingenuity's robotic partner, NASA's Perseverance rover, may end up collecting some samples for future return to Earth.

Perseverance and Ingenuity landed together on Feb. 18 on the floor of the 28-mile-wide (45 kilometers) Jezero, which hosted a lake and a river delta in the ancient past. In early April, Ingenuity deployed from Perseverance's belly, kicking off a monthlong technology-demonstrating flight campaign.

The rotorcraft aced all five of the sorties it conducted during that stretch. NASA then granted Ingenuity a mission extension, during which the helicopter is showcasing the scouting potential of Mars aerial vehicles.

For example, Ingenuity checked out a geologic unit called Séítah during its ninth flight, which occurred on July 5. Séítah sports a number of sand dunes, making it too tricky for Perseverance to traverse, even for tentative "toe-dips" to check out exposed bedrock. But Ingenuity's imagery will help the rover team plan out possible toe-dip spots at other locations along its projected Jezero path, NASA officials said.