A NASA helicopter on the red planet of Mars seems to have picked up an unidentified object momentarily.
Ingenuity, the helicopter, had a small piece of foreign object debris stuck underneath it during a portion of the aircraft’s 33rd flight. The debris then fell from the helicopter’s leg and drifted back to the planet’s surface, according to NASA.
“All telemetry from the flight and a post-flight search and transfer are nominal and show no indication of vehicle damage,” the space agency wrote in a statement. “The Ingenuity and Perseverance Mars 2020 teams are working to discern the source of the debris.”
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It is unclear what the object was — only that it had the appearance of a portion of a cobweb or a wrapper of sorts, based on the footage provided by the agency.
Ingenuity went to Mars with its partner rover Perseverance in July 2020, before landing on the planet in February 2021. Perseverance is intended to search for any signs of life on the planet, while Ingenuity is intended to be a test for future flying machines on Mars, according to NASA.
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The flying aircraft has overperformed, as it was originally rated for five flights. In the 17 months since its landing, it has now flown 33 times, according to Space.
