Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter at Jezero Crater performed its 58^th flight on September 11.

Details posted by NASA’s JPL list the following flight statistics: Horizontal distance: Roughly 571 feet (174 meters); Maximum altitude: roughly 33 feet (10 meters); Duration of flight 106.8 seconds.

Flight 59

Meanwhile, the aerial craft was slated to carry out Flight 59, with JPL posting an expected flight date for September 16. This flight would be a “pop-up” with an expected flight time of 142.94 seconds, to a maximum altitude of 65 feet (20 meters).

Newly posted black and white images from Flight 58 include the above photo, taken by the craft’s Navigation Camera mounted in the helicopter’s fuselage and pointed directly downward to track the ground during flight.

Color imagery was produced by high-resolution color camera mounted in the helicopter’s fuselage and pointed approximately 22 degrees below the horizon.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech