3D Ingenuity
The multicolor, stereo imaging
Mastcam-Z
on the Perseverance rover
zoomed in
to capture
this 3D close-up (get out your red/blue glasses) of the
Mars Ingenuity
helicopter
on mission sol 45.
That's Earth-date 2021 April 5.
Casting a shadow
on the Martian surface, Ingenuity is standing
alone on its four landing legs next to the rover's wheel tracks.
The experimental helicopter's solar panel, charging batteries that keep
it warm through the
cold Martian nights
and power its flight, sits just
above Ingenuity's two 1.2 meter (4 foot) long counter-rotating blades.
Thirteen sols later, on April 19,
Ingenuity became the first aircraft to perform powered, controlled
flight on another planet.
It has since gone on
to complete more than 50
flights through the thin atmosphere of Mars.