These exceptional images were captured by NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter, which celebrated its 26th flight to the Red Planet and its one-year anniversary of its maiden flight on April 19.
The images were then shared worldwide, with many commenting and ascribing “sci-fi elements” to it.
And here’s everything you need to know about the wreckage and what Nasa had to say.
NASA helicopters found debris of what?
Nasa Mars discovered the wreckage, which was part of the Perseverance probe.
Nasa’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter discovered the debris during an aerial survey of part of Mars. Cone-shaped debris is believed to be the back shell that protected Nasa’s Perseverance spacecraft during its February 2021 landing on Mars.
In fact, this is the most successful Mars landing recorded in history. Mt seven months to reach this planet, its journey has been broadcast around the world.
Landing on the Red Planet is a challenge, with extreme gravity, high temperatures and pressure changes to take into account. As a result, instruments that help it land on Mars’ surface will suffer catastrophic results, often with irreparable damage.
However, rather than images involving aliens, the debris is actually the remains of the lander used when the Perseverance rover landed on Mars.
Many people have talked about the “otherworldly” element of this discovery, but Ian Clark, who worked on Perseverance’s parachute system, said: “Surely many people have associated sci-fi elements in it. However, in reality, these are completely man-made things. “
Similar to the size of a car, Ingenuity has a parachute and conical rear shell to protect it during its descent into space. Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity team leader at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, said: “NASA has extended Ingenuity flight operations to take on pioneering flights like this. Every time we fly In the air, Ingenuity once again covered the ground and offered a perspective that no previous planetary mission could achieve.”
According to NASA, these images provide an important source of data. Finding out what happens to the lander could help ensure safer landings for future spacecraft, such as the Mars Sample Return lander, which is part of the mission. mission to return samples of Perseverance to Earth for detailed scientific analysis.
How many missions have been to Mars?
Earth has been on missions to Mars since the 1960s, with NASA’s first successful flight to the planet taking place in 1965.
Since then, many countries have sent spacecraft into space to carry out missions to Mars including Russia, India and the United Arab Emirates.
In total, there have been 50 Mars missions to date, with about half of these unsuccessful.
The next missions planned to Mars will take place in the 2020s and 2030s – by NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to collect samples of the Red Planet.
NASA wants to send astronauts to Mars sometime in the 2030s. Putting humans on Mars is also a long-term goal for China and those wishing to live. on Mars it is possible to visit a simulated site in the Gobi Desert. The most ambitious person is billionaire Elon Musk with the goal of sending humans to Mars within this decade.
Will humans ever get to Mars?
Although humans have yet to set foot on Mars, there is hope that this will become a reality in the 2030s.
Estimates of the distance from Earth to Mars range from 56.3 million km to 400.7 million km due to the planets’ elliptical orbits, so there is only a short ideal period for space travel. This makes logistics much more complicated, and moving there can take up to 26 months. However, 26 months is just an estimate with favorable conditions.
The proposed follow-up is set to 2033, but it is unknown if our technology will be matured by that time.
NASA is currently hosting year-long simulation missions to Mars. The CHAPEA mission will see potential astronauts test for life in a Mars simulation for 12 months and actively recruit new candidates every year.