2024-01-28 12:03:16
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter is seen August 2, 2023 in a color-enhanced image captured by the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard the agency’s Perseverance Mars rover. The image was taken a day before the rotorcraft’s 54th flight. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS
NASA has proven that powered, controlled flight is possible on other worlds, just as the Wright brothers proved it was possible on Earth.
NASA’s historic ingenuity Mars helicopter has completed its mission to the Red Planet after exceeding expectations and completing dozens more flights than planned. While the helicopter remains upright and in communication with ground controllers, images from its Jan. 18 flight sent to Earth this week indicate that one or more of its rotor blades suffered damage during landing and that he is no longer able to fly.
Originally designed as a technology demonstration to conduct up to five experimental test flights over 30 days, the first aircraft on another world operated from the Martian surface for nearly three years, completed 72 flights and flew more than 14 times farther than expected while logging more than two hours of total flight time.
“The historic journey of Ingenuity, the first aircraft to another planet, is coming to an end,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “This remarkable helicopter flew higher and further than we ever imagined and helped NASA do what we do best: make the impossible possible. Through missions like Ingenuity, NASA is paving the way for future flights in our solar system and smarter, safer human exploration to Mars and beyond.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced that the Ingenuity Mars helicopter has come to an end. The Ingenuity Mars helicopter made history by performing the first powered and controlled flight on another planet on April 19, 2021. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Ingenuity landed on Mars on February 18, 2021, attached to the belly of NASA’s Perseverance rover. It took off for the first time from the Martian surface on April 19, proving that powered, controlled flight on Mars was possible. After completing four more flights, it embarked on a new operational demonstration mission, serving as aerial reconnaissance for Perseverance scientists and rover drivers. In 2023, the helicopter successfully completed two flight tests which further expanded the team’s knowledge of its aerodynamic limits.
“At NASA JPL, innovation is at the heart of what we do,” Leshin said. “Ingenuity is an example of how we push the boundaries of what is possible every day. I’m incredibly proud of our team behind this historic technological achievement and can’t wait to see what they invent next.
After its 72nd flight on January 18, 2024, NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter captured this color image showing the shadow of one of its rotor blades, which was damaged during landing. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Ingenuity team had planned for the helicopter to make a short vertical flight on January 18 to determine its location after making an emergency landing during its previous flight. The data shows that, as planned, the helicopter reached a maximum altitude of 40 feet (12 meters) and hovered for 4.5 seconds before beginning its descent at a speed of 3.3 feet per second (1 meter per second).
However, about 1 meter above the surface, Ingenuity lost contact with the rover, which serves as a communications relay for the rotorcraft. The next day, communications were restored and more information about the flight was relayed to ground controllers at NASA JPL. Images revealing damage to the rotor blade arrived several days later. The cause of the communications outage and the orientation of the helicopter at the time of landing are still under investigation.
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter captured this view of sand ripples during its 70th flight on December 22, 2023. The smooth, relatively featureless terrain proved difficult for the helicopter’s navigation system to track during Flight 72 on January 18, 2024, resulting in a landing. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Triumphs, challenges
During an extended mission that lasted nearly 1,000 Martian days, more than 33 times longer than originally planned, Ingenuity was enhanced with the ability to autonomously choose landing sites in hazardous terrain, dealing with a dead sensor, cleaning up after dust storms, operating from 48 different airfields, made three emergency landings and survived a freezing Martian winter.
Designed to operate in the spring, Ingenuity was unable to power its heaters through the night during the coldest periods of winter, causing the flight computer to periodically freeze and reset. These “blackouts” forced the team to rethink Ingenuity’s winter operations in order to keep flying.
With flight operations now complete, the Ingenuity team will perform final tests on the helicopter’s systems and upload the remaining images and data to Ingenuity’s onboard memory. The Perseverance rover is currently too far away to attempt to image the helicopter at its final airfield.
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter last flew on January 18, 2024. NASA announced the end of Ingenuity’s mission on January 25, 2024. Watch the helicopter team reflect on some of its moments and favorite memories from Ingenuity’s time on Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
“It is humbling that Ingenuity not only carries a sample of the original Wright Flyer (see image below), but that this helicopter has also followed in its footsteps and proven that flight is possible on another world” , said Teddy Tzanetos, project manager of Ingenuity at NASA JPL. “The Mars Helicopter would never have flown once, let alone 72 times, without the passion and dedication of the Ingenuity and Perseverance teams. History’s first Martian helicopter will leave an indelible mark on the future of space exploration and inspire aircraft fleets on Mars – and on other worlds – for decades to come.
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter carries a small sample of muslin from the lower left wing of the Wright Brothers Flyer 1. Located under the helicopter’s solar panel (the dark rectangle), the sample is attached with ribbon dark orange polyamide to a cable extending from the panel, then secured in place with a white polyester cord used to connect the cables together. A gray dot of epoxy at the intersection of the three turns of cord prevents the lacing from loosening as the rotor blades (top pair seen at bottom of image) spin at up to 2,400 rpm. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Learn more about ingenuity
The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was built by NASA JPL, which also manages the project for NASA Headquarters. It is supported by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, provided important flight performance analysis and technical assistance during the development of Ingenuity. AeroVironment Inc., Qualcomm and SolAero also provided design assistance and major vehicle components. Lockheed Space designed and manufactured the Mars Helicopter Delivery System. At NASA Headquarters, Dave Lavery is the program manager for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter.
1706446222
#NASAs #Ingenuity #Mars #Helicopter #Completes #Mission #Epic #Years