Subj : Daily APOD Report
To   : All
From : Alan Ianson
Date : Sat Feb 10 2024 02:37:20

                        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.

                              2024 February 10

                The Shadow of Ingenuity's Damaged Rotor Blade
                 Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, Ingenuity

   Explanation: On January 18, 2024, during its 72nd flight in the thin
   Martian atmosphere, autonomous Mars Helicopter Ingenuity rose to an
   altitude of 12 meters (40 feet) and hovered for 4.5 seconds above the
   Red Planet. Ingenuity's 72nd landing was a rough one though. During
   descent it lost contact with the Perseverance rover about 1 meter above
   the Martian surface. Ingenuity was able to transmit this image after
   contact was re-established, showing the shadow of one of its rotor
   blades likely damaged during landing. And so, after wildly exceeding
   expectations during over 1,000 days of exploring Mars, the
   history-making Ingenuity has ended its flight operations. Nicknamed
   Ginny, Mars Helicopter Ingenuity became the first aircraft to achieve
   powered, controlled flight on another planet on April 19, 2021. Before
   launch, a small piece of material from the lower-left wing of the
   Wright Brothers Flyer 1, the first aircraft to achieve powered,
   controlled flight on planet Earth, was fixed to the underside of
   Ingenuity's solar panel.

              Tomorrow's picture: the shadow of a rocket plume
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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