Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Perseverance rover photo of Ingenuity micro-helicopter taken by Left Mastcam-Z Camera. Image acquired on April 18, 2021 (Sol 57).
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

Up, up, and away! The Ingenuity mini-helicopter is set to make the first attempt at powered flight on another planet on Monday, April 19.

The location where NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will observe the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter’s attempt at powered controlled flight at Mars is called “Van Zyl Overlook.” Photo credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Operations by the helicopter team in mission control starts at 6:15 a.m. EDT (10:15 a.m. UTC) as they receive the data and find out if Ingenuity has successfully flown.

Right Mastcam-Z Camera photo acquired on April 15, 2021 (Sol 54).
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASUMeanwhile, NASA’s Perseverance rover is soaking up the scenery, relaying imagery of its landing locale, Jezero Crater.

Meanwhile, NASA’s Perseverance rover is soaking up the scenery, relaying imagery of its landing locale, Jezero Crater.

Right Mastcam-Z Camera photo acquired on April 16, 2021 (Sol 55).
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

Right Mastcam-Z Camera image acquired on April 15, 2021 (Sol 54).
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

“We are still in the process of characterizing our surroundings in both the near and far field,” says Jim Rice, a Mastcam-Z science team member at Arizona State University.

“As for the kinds of rocks we are seeing we have multiple working hypotheses of both volcanic and sedimentary rock types at this time,” Rice tells Inside Outer Space. “Jezero Crater has provided us a marvelous landscape to explore and with our team and science payload we are looking forward to unraveling the details of all the geologic events that occurred here.”

To watch the helicopter flight attempt, go to: https://youtu.be/p1KolyCqICI