“NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter’s photographs on the Martian surface have puzzled space enthusiasts. Recent images from the Perseverance rover’s robotic camera revealed dismantled parts resembling a flying saucer or Unidentified Flying Object (UFO). The viral images of these scattered space object fragments on the red planet’s surface have sparked speculation among netizens.”

However, NASA quickly revealed that the broken UFO-ish object is actually the broken landing gears from last year’s mission to Mars. The pictures accessed and verified by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) said that the NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter recently surveyed both the parachute that helped the agency’s Perseverance rover land on Mars and the “cone-shaped back shell” that protected the rover in deep space and during its fiery descent toward the Martian surface on February 18, 2021. The images also showed the debris-covered aeroshell and its 70.5-foot-wide parachute- the biggest ever deployed on the red planet.

 ‘Not just space waste’

What is surprising about the landing gear is that despite the “fast-paced and stressful” entry, descent, and landing on Mars, the equipment was completely turned into rubble.  Also, the vehicle endured the gravitational forces, high temperatures, and other extremes that come with entering Mars’ atmosphere at nearly 12,500 mph (20,000 kph). The parachute and backshell were previously imaged from a distance by the Perseverance rover, NASA JPL said in a blog post.

[Perseverance’s backshell, supersonic parachute, and associated debris field is seen strewn across the Martian surface in this image captured by NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 26th flight on April 19, 2022. IMAGE: @NASAJPLTwitter]

“It excludes otherworldly, doesn’t it,” Dr. Ian Clark from NASA’s JPL jokingly told the New York Times. However, space experts are yet to reach a conclusive decision on the wreckage even after “weeks of analysis.” Clark also noted Perseverance’s credibility in terms of documenting “Mars landing in history, with cameras showing everything from parachute inflation to touchdown,” in a blog post. However, he added Ingenuity’s “phenomenal and inspiring” images offer a “different vantage point”, enabling research teams to ensure safe landings for future spacecraft, namely Mars Sample Return.

Meanwhile, there were some astounding speculations made by netizens about what they believed the images were. Some people thought it was human “trash” deposited on other planets. “Bad enough we destroy our own planet, who is the volunteer highway patrol that’s going to clean up Mars now,” one wrote. “Let’s not make Mars another ‘litter-filled’ planet,” wrote another. However, New York Times took the onus of rectifying the notion by saying that “These are not just space waste.” The pictures are a part of the 10 snaps that NASA’s Ingenuity snapped during its 26th flight.

VIDEO: