Nasa’s Mars helicopter spots ‘otherworldly’ wreckage on Red Planet caused by space agency
The IndependentSign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy An aerial survey of a section of Mars by Nasa’s Ingenuity helicopter has revealed “otherworldly” images of the cone-shaped backshell which protected the robotic explorer during its fiery descent toward the Martian surface on 18 February 2021. While Nasa’s Perseverance rover had the best-documented Mars landing in history, with cameras showing everything from parachute inflation to touchdown, and the rover also imaged debris from the parachute and the blackshell earlier, scientists say the new images from the helicopter provide more detail and “a different vantage point”. Scientists say this new area of operations for the rotorcraft in the dry river delta of Mars’ Jezero Crater is a dramatic departure from the “modest, relatively flat” terrain the helicopter had been flying over since its first flight. Scientists say the helicopter may also come in handy to scout out landing zones and sites on the Martian surface where sample caches could be deposited for Nasa’s proposed Mars Sample Return program.