NASA
The ingenuity of NASA’s Mars exploration helicopter. Provided by NASA
NASA’s small unmanned Mars exploration helicopter, “Ingenuity,” ends its mission due to a wing injury.
NASA Director Bill Nelson announced on the 25th (local time): “Ingenuity, the first helicopter in human history to fly on a planet other than Earth, has finished its mission.” “We flew farther and higher than we could have imagined,” he said, adding, “He made the impossible possible.”
NASA confirmed that after reviewing footage sent by Ingenuity on January 18, it appears that at least one of Ingenuity’s rotary wings was damaged during the landing attempt. It was determined that it could no longer fly due to wing damage and the decision was made to terminate Ingenuity’s mission.
“Selfie” taken by Ingenuity and Perseverance in April 2021. Provided by NASA
The small Ingenuity helicopter was mounted on the Mars Exploration Rover Perseverance and landed in Jezero Crater on Mars in February 2021. It is 0.5 meters tall, weighs 1.8 kg and has four carbon fiber wings. Ingenuity’s rotor blades rotate 8 times faster than existing helicopter blades, allowing it to fly even in the Martian environment, where the air is 1% thinner than Earth’s. It was compared to the Wright brothers’ first powered flight as it was the first flying object to fly on a planet outside of Earth.
Ingenuity began its first flight in April 2021. After successfully completing a total of four flights, it also played the role of tracking Perseverance and demonstrating its mission. Contrary to expectations that 5 flights would be best, 72 flights were successfully completed in 3 years, 14 times more than expected. The total flight time is approximately 2 hours.
According to the Ingenuity operations team, on January 18, the operations team conducted a short vertical flight to determine Ingenuity’s landing site. Reaching an altitude of 12 metres, Ingenuity hovered in the air for approximately 4.5 seconds before beginning its descent at 1 meter per second. Subsequently, when it reached about 1 meter above the surface, contact with the rover was lost. The next day, the 19th, it was connected to ground controllers again, but the damage to the rotor blades was confirmed in photos taken the day before. The cause of the loss of communication is being investigated.
“Ingenuity’s historic journey has come to an end,” said Director Nelson. “Through missions like Ingenuity, NASA will intelligently and safely explore the path to Mars and beyond.”
Ingenuity’s shadow captured during the flight. Provided by NASA
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