Former tech demo proved powered flight was possible in thin Martian atmosphere and ended up serving as scout for rover
The last flight of NASA’s tiny Mars helicopter has been completed.
The space agency declared on Thursday that rotor blade damage has rendered the 4 lb (1.8 kg) Ingenuity helicopter unfit for flight. Although it is still upright and communicating with flight controllers, officials declared that its $85 million (£67 million) mission has come to an end.
Originally designed as a temporary technology demonstration, Ingenuity completed 72 flights on Mars in three years. It flew for over two hours, covering a distance of eleven miles (18 km).
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According to NASA, that is over 14 times further away than planned. It reached speeds of up to 22.4 mph (36 km/h) and reached heights of up to 79 feet (24 meters).
“While we knew this day was inevitable, it doesn’t make it any easier” to announce the end of the mission, said Nasa’s Lori Glaze. “It’s almost an understatement to say that it has surpassed expectations.”
Ingenuity hitched a ride on Nasa’s Perseverance rover, landing on Mars in 2021. At the end, it proved that powered flight was feasible in the thin Martian atmosphere and served as a scout for the rover.
This week, images from its most recent mission were sent back, revealing that one or more of its rotor blades had been damaged after landing and might have struck the Earth. The space agency claims that the blades are no longer functional.
During its latest flight last week, the helicopter reached a height of 40 feet and hovered for a short while before dropping. While only three feet off the ground, it inexplicably lost touch with the neighboring rover, which served as its communication relay. The damage was verified once connection was established again. The cause of the communication breakdown is being looked into.
The success of ingenuity led NASA to include two miniature helicopters in a 2022 Mars mission.