Day: November 18, 2021

As researchers at U.S space agency NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory prepare for the 16th flight of Ingenuity, the Mars helicopter, the team has used recently downloaded data from the Mars mission to create the best video yet of one of Ingenuity’s previous flights.

The 1.8-kilogram aircraft arrived on the planet packed away on NASA’s Perseverance rover when it landed on Mars in February. Originally designed to be a simple demonstration project to prove flight was possible in the thin Martian atmosphere, the aircraft has far exceeded expectations and has completed 15 flights.

JPL scientists say Ingenuity’s 16th flight is scheduled to take place no earlier than Saturday. In the meantime, they have been examining the video footage taken by Perseverance of the helicopter’s 13th flight on September 4, which they say provides the most detailed look yet of the Martian aircraft in action.

The Ingenuity team said the helicopter is providing NASA with data to guide the Perseverance rover. They said the 2 minutes, 40.5 seconds Flight 13 was one of Ingenuity’s most complicated. It involved flying into varied terrain within a geological feature known as the “Séítah” and taking images of an outcrop from multiple angles for the rover team.

The images, taken from an altitude of 8 meters, complement those collected during Ingenuity’s previous flights, providing valuable insight for Perseverance scientists and rover drivers.

The video was captured by the rover’s two-camera Mastcam-Z. One video clip of Flight 13 shows most of Ingenuity’s flight profile. The other provides a closeup of takeoff and landing, which was acquired as part of a science observation intended to measure the dust plumes generated by the helicopter.

Justin Maki, JPL’s Mastcam-Z principal operator, said the video shows the value of the camera system, and while the helicopter is little more than a speck in the wide view, “It gives viewers a good feel for the size of the environment that Ingenuity is exploring.”

Ingenuity’s performance will guide how future missions will be designed and how those missions will utilize aircraft to help determine where rovers should go and where they cannot.

Aside from solar batteries, a camera and a transmitter, Ingenuity carries no scientific instruments.

Source: Voice of America

The longest partial lunar eclipse in nearly 600 years, which will bathe the moon in red, will be visible Thursday and Friday for a big slice of humanity.

The celestial show will see the moon almost completely cast in shadow as it moves behind the Earth, reddening 99% of its face.

The spectacle will be visible for all of North America, as well as parts of South America, Polynesia, Australia and northeast Asia.

Sky-watchers in those parts who are blessed with a cloud-free view will see a slight dimming of the moon from 0602 GMT Friday as it enters Earth’s penumbra, the outer shadow.

An hour later it will appear as if someone has taken a giant bite out of the lunar disc as it starts to pass into the umbra, the full shadow.

By 0845 GMT the moon will appear red, with the most vivid coloring visible at peak eclipse 18 minutes later.

The whole process then goes into reverse as the moon slips out of shadow and carries on its endless journey around our planet.

The dramatic red is caused by a phenomenon known as “Rayleigh scattering,” where the shorter blue light waves from the sun are dispersed by particles in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Red light waves, which are longer, pass easily through these particles.

“The more dust or clouds in Earth’s atmosphere during the eclipse, the redder the moon will appear,” a NASA website explains.

From the moment the eclipse proper begins — when the moon enters the Earth’s shadow — to when it ends will take more than three hours, 28 minutes.

That is the longest partial eclipse since 1440, around the time Johannes Gutenberg invented his printing press, and won’t be beaten until the far-off future of 2669.

The good news for moon watchers, however, is that they won’t have to wait that long for another show. There will be a total lunar eclipse on November 8 next year, NASA says.

And even better news for anyone wanting to watch is that no special equipment is necessary, unlike for solar eclipses.

Binoculars, telescopes or the naked eye will give a decent view of the spectacle — as long as the weather here on Earth plays ball.

Source: Voice of America