NASA photographs a helicopter on the surface of Mars from space

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reached Mars on in 2006 and was tasked with studying the Red Planet's geology and climate.

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While the orbiter has done a great job at observing Mars' geology from a distance, it has also been put to other uses. NASA has pointed the HiRISE (High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera at the surface of Mars to spot the two newest members on Mars, NASA's Perseverance rover and martian helicopter Ingenuity, which together landed in early 2021.

The images taken by NASA's orbiter showcase a top-down view of Perseverance exploring the cracked surface of a rock formation called "Maaz", which translates from Navajo to English as "Mars". Located around 650 feet to the left of Perseverance is Ingenuity calmly seated on martian bedrock. Recently, Perseverance stumbled upon its own parachute and snapped some images that one Twitter user keenly caught. More on that story can be found here.

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Ingenuity is circled in red, and Perseverance is circled in yellow.

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