NASA’s Mars helicopter has found an ‘otherworldly’ wreckage on the planet’s surface.
The more missions there are to Mars, the more pieces of equipment get left behind.
And space agencies are only hoping for more frequent visits to the Red Planet in a bid to determine a way for humans to step foot on Mars.
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But it seems like we’re already leaving our mark on the neighboring planet, as demonstrated by some pretty incredible photos taken by a probe.
The NASA helicopter drone is known as Ingenuity and was flying around observing Mars.
After being deployed for its first flight in April 2021, Ingenuity, nicknamed Ginny, completed 72 flights before engineers eventually retired it in January due to fault.
However, back in early 2022, it stumbled upon a peculiar site.
It looks like something out of a sci-fi space flick but it is in fact very real.
The wreckage of what appeared to be a classic-looking UFO was sent back to Earth for the whole world to speculate.
But the source turned out not to be extraterrestrial.
NASA confirmed that it was part of the landing capsule of the Perseverance rover that the space agency had sent to Mars in 2021.
Ian Clark, who worked on the Perseverance's parachute system, said: “There's definitely a sci-fi element to it. It exudes otherworldly, doesn't it? They say a picture's worth 1,000 words, but it's also worth an infinite amount of engineering understanding.”
As it happens, Perseverance and Ingenuity actually launched for Mars together, hitting the Martian atmosphere at a staggering 12,500 mph before slowing down for landing.
Thanks to a bevy of onboard cameras, Clark explained: “Perseverance had the best-documented Mars landing in history, with cameras showing everything from parachute inflation to touchdown. But Ingenuity's images offer a different vantage point.”
Experts are now studying the photos to learn from the landing.
Clark went on to say: “If they either reinforce that our systems worked as we think they worked or provide even one dataset of engineering information we can use for Mars Sample Return planning, it will be amazing.”
It could well be that the images inspire a whole new generation of researchers and potential astronauts to spend their career looking to the stars to uncover yet more secrets in the universe.
So it might not have been an exciting find of alien life on Mars, but the discovery will certainly be put to good use.