                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2023 August 10

                            Five Meters over Mars
                 Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, Ingenuity

   Explanation: On mission sol 872 (Earth date August 3) Ingenuity snapped
   this sharp image on its 54th flight above the surface of the Red
   Planet. During the flight the Mars Helicopter hovered about 5 meters,
   or just over 16 feet, above the Jezero crater floor. Tips of
   Ingenuity's landing legs peek over the left and right edges in the
   camera's field of view. Tracks visible near the upper right corner lead
   to the Perseverance Mars Rover, seen looking on from a distance at the
   top right edge of the frame. Planned as a brief "pop-up" flight,
   Ingenuity's 54th flight lasted less than 25 seconds. It followed
   Ingenuity's 53rd flight made on July 22 that resulted in an unscheduled
   landing.

                        Tomorrow's picture: 255 hours
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
                NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

