NASA brings somber news for all as it officially announced that the Ingenuity Space Helicopter's mission is officially ended, with the renowned spacecraft now grounded and would no longer fly on Mars. However, Ingenuity's mission was not in vain, as the long-extended flight of the helicopter proved many things for NASA, including the possibility of a controlled flight on the neighboring planet.
The Mars Perseverance mission continues, along with the rover known as Percy, but Ingenuity is now grounded and will no longer fly in its stay.
NASA Ends Ingenuity Helicopter's Mars Mission
NASA/JPL-Caltech
The latest announcement from NASA and JPL now confirms that Ingenuity's mission has come to an end after three years of service and providing the world with massive intel on Mars. This came after the recent discovery by the team from the imagery it sent to the Earth, centering on its January 18 flight which showed one or more of its rotor blades with damages.
It was said that its rotors were damaged upon landing, with the team deeming the space helicopter to no longer be capable of flying around.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson also said a few words to commemorate the legacy left behind by Ingenuity, saying "That remarkable helicopter flew higher and farther than we ever imagined and helped NASA do what we do best - make the impossible, possible."
For its three-year operations on Mars, it flew a total of 11 miles with 72 flights undertaken by the record-breaking spacecraft. Initially, Perseverance was only meant to fly five experimental flights in the span of 30 Earth days, but was able to do it 14 times farther and logged in a total of two hours of flight time.
With Mars' thin atmosphere and low pressure compared to the Earth, controlled flight was not thought of to be possible, but Ingenuity proved the world wrong and introduced wonders for the future of space exploration.
NASA's Ingenuity Space Helicopter
NASA created the Ingenuity space helicopter back in 2020 to join the Mars Perseverance mission along with a rover, and this is the first time that the space agency deployed a different type of vehicle on the Red Planet. It arrived on the planet in 2021, strapped on the underbelly of the Perseverance rover, and it is meant to test if controlled flight is possible on other worlds.
The $85 million space helicopter was the brainchild of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, meant to only fly a total of 5 flights for its testing and exploration of Mars.
However, the team and researchers were able to see it persevere in the alien world, and its five flights were succeeded by many more, offering a unique look and perspective of the Red Planet from the skies.
In its wake, a total of 72 flights were completed by Ginny, Ingenuity's nickname, in three years since it arrived on Mars last 2021 with the Perseverance rover. Ingenuity offered a total of 11 miles (17 kilometers) of flight which centered on specific surveilling of different parts of Mars, and is the only spacecraft able to provide this kind of information, with a job well done for the mission.
