by Jan. 25 (UPI) — After a mission that lasted 33 hours longer than scientists expected, NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter has taken its final flight on Mars, NASA announced Thursday.
“The historic journey of Ingenuity, the first aircraft on another planet, has come to an end. It is bittersweet that I have to announce that Ingenuity, the little helicopter that could – and he continued to say, ‘I think I can, I think. I can’ — well, it’s now taken its last flight to Mars,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in an agency statement.
“That amazing helicopter flew higher and farther than we ever imagined and helped NASA do what we do best – make the impossible possible.”
The craft’s mission lasted for nearly 1,000 Martian days, although it was scheduled to spend only 30 in technology demonstration.
The rover, affectionately referred to as “Ginny” by scientists and engineers, remained operational on the surface of Mars for almost three years, achieved 72 flights, stayed aloft for a total of 129 minutes, and covered nearly 11 miles of land, according to the mission’s flight log.
Ingenuity’s rotor blades suffered damage during its flight on Thursday, rendering it inoperable for future missions, and it experienced communication problems with NASA during its final flight.
“Communication between the helicopter and the rover was lost shortly before touchdown,” the statement said.
But Nelson said the helicopter’s success bodes well for a promising future of similar NASA flights within our solar system and smarter, safer exploration of Mars and beyond.
Ingenuity landed in Jezero Crater in February 2021 alongside NASA’s Perseverance rover and was responsible for proving that flight in the thin Martian atmosphere is possible.
The 4 lb. craft, about the size of a box of tissues, made its first ever flight in April 2021 and was initially launched as a technology demonstration for a month.
After thoroughly proving itself to that task by completing five flights that spring, NASA sent Ingenuity to accompany Persistence as it drilled and collected samples for ancient signs of life on the Planet. Look for red.
Ingenuity ended up completing 67 missions, far longer than scientists and engineers had hoped.
“To say it exceeded expectations is almost an understatement,” said Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division, at a press conference Thursday.
“Ingenuity disrupted our exploration paradigm, introducing this new dimension of aerial mobility.”
Ingenuity’s success and longevity were made even more remarkable considering that the small helicopter was made with mostly “off-the-shelf” components commonly used in drones or Earth-based computers, said Teddy Tzanetos, NASA Ingenuity team leader. , in November. , interview 2021.
“Any flight could be our last flight, really,” Tzanetos said then. “So it will not be a surprise to us if and when we see some of the parts that fail. But it could be a great discovery … a new data point for us to understand flight on another planet.”
Ingenuity’s unexpected turnaround time forced engineers to update its software and make other necessary adjustments to the flight, including making the chopper’s blades spin faster to account for the warmer summer air in the Jezero Crater.
“The best part is rolling with the punches and tweaking how to fly to meet what’s happening on Mars. It’s very exciting to go through that process,” said Tzanetos in November, 2021.
The mission is not over yet. NASA will perform final tests and download data. Tzanetos also said that Persistence could get close enough to get some low-quality photos of Ingenuity, although we are now too far away to see the helicopter.
Although its flying days are over, NASA said the helicopter’s success will help provide information for future missions and aerial exploration of the Red Planet.
NASA has already announced plans to send two Ingenuity-like craft to help Persistence collect samples to return to Earth, and the agency is developing larger and more capable helicopters that could carry out science missions of their own. do some day on Mars.
