Exploring Martian Winds with Ingenuity: The First Near-Surface Wind Profiling on Mars

The Mars Ingenuity helicopter has been repurposed to study near-surface winds, providing unprecedented data on wind speeds and directions at altitudes between 3 and 24 meters. Ingenuity’s telemetry data, analyzed by Brian Jackson's team, showed winds significantly stronger and sometimes in different directions than predicted by Mars climate models, suggesting complex local wind dynamics influenced by terrain around Jezero Crater. These findings highlight the potential of drones to deepen understanding of Martian atmospheric layers and improve future exploration models and planning.