January 25 (UPI) — NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter made its final flight on Mars after a mission that took 33 times longer than scientists expected, NASA announced Thursday.
“The historic journey of Ingenuity, the first plane on another planet, is over. It’s a bittersweet thing that I have to announce Ingenuity, the little helicopter that can do this — and he kept saying, ‘I think I can, I think NASA Administrator Bill Nelson is a I can – I mean, it’s now made its last flyby of Mars,” the agency said in a statement.
“This remarkable helicopter flew much higher and farther than we ever imagined, helping NASA do what we do best: make the impossible possible.”
The rover’s mission lasted almost 1,000 Martian days, even though it was planned to cover only 30 days in a technology demonstration.
Affectionately referred to as “Ginny” by scientists and engineers, Ingenuity operated on the surface of Mars for nearly three years, performing 72 flybys, staying aloft for a total of 129 minutes and traveling approximately 18 miles. The mission’s flight log.
Ingenuity’s rotor blades were damaged during its flight on Thursday, making it unusable for future missions, and it experienced communication problems with NASA during its final flight.
“Communication between the helicopter and the rover was terminated prematurely before landing,” the statement said.
But Nelson said the helicopter’s success heralds a promising future for similar NASA flights across our solar system and smarter, safer exploration on Mars and beyond.
Ingenuity landed in Jezero Crater alongside NASA’s Perseverance rover in February 2021 and was responsible for proving that flight was possible in the thin Martian atmosphere.
The 4-lb. vehicle, about the size of a tissue box, made its first flight in April 2021 and was initially launched as a month-long technology demonstration.
After proving itself capable of that mission by completing five flybys in the spring, NASA sent Ingenuity to accompany Perseverance, which drilled and collected samples for signs of ancient life on the Red Planet.
Ingenuity eventually completed 67 missions, far beyond what scientists and engineers expected.
“To say it exceeded expectations is almost an understatement,” Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division, said at a news conference Thursday.
“Ingenuity has absolutely shattered our exploration paradigm by bringing this new dimension to air mobility.”
Teddy Tzanetos, leader of the NASA Ingenuity team, said in November that Ingenuity’s success and longevity are made all the more remarkable given that the small helicopter is made mostly of “off-the-shelf” components commonly used in Earth-based drones or computers. , 2021 interview.
“Obviously any flight could be our last flight,” Tzanetos said at the time. “So it wouldn’t be a surprise if we saw some parts fail. But it could be a great discovery…a new data point for understanding flight on another planet.”
The unexpected length of Ingenuity’s operating life forced engineers to update its software and make other necessary adjustments on the fly, including making the helicopter’s blades spin faster to account for warmer summer weather in Jezero Crater.
“The best part is rolling with the punches and adjusting the way it flies to adapt to what’s happening on Mars. Going through that process is extremely exciting,” Tzanetos said in November 2021.
The mission isn’t quite finished yet. NASA will perform final testing and download the data. Tzanetos also said that Perseverance could eventually get close enough to take low-quality photos of Ingenuity, but right now it’s too far away to see the helicopter.
Although its flying days are over, NASA said the helicopter’s success will help inform future missions and aerial exploration of the Crimson Plant.
NASA has already announced plans to send two Creativity-like vehicles to help Perseverance collect samples for return to Earth, and the agency is developing larger, more capable helicopters that could one day conduct its own science missions on Mars.