Ingenuity Kicks Up Dust Cloud on Fourth Flight

Click here for Mastcam-Z left eye animation (.gif)

Click here for Mastcam-Z left eye animation (.mp4)

Click here for Mastcam-Z right eye animation (.gif)

Click here for Mastcam-Z right eye animation (.mp4)

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is seen here at the end of its fourth flight, on April 30, 2021. This enhanced video shows the dust kicked up by the helicopter's spinning rotors. Scientists can analyze this dust to learn more about the Martian environment.

This video was captured by the Mastcam-Z imager aboard NASA's Perseverance rover. Two files are available for the Mastcam-Z's left and right eyes. The files are available as both mp4s and GIFs.

Arizona State University in Tempe leads the operations of the Mastcam-Z instrument, working in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego.

A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).

Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.

JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.

The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was built by JPL, which also manages the technology demonstration project for NASA Headquarters. It is supported by NASA's Science, Aeronautics Research, and Space Technology mission directorates. NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley, and NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, provided significant flight performance analysis and technical assistance during Ingenuity's development. AeroVironment Inc., Qualcomm, and SolAero also provided design assistance and major vehicle components. Lockheed Martin Space designed and manufactured the Mars Helicopter Delivery System.