The Ingenuity helicopter’s mission to Mars has been announced. This was reported by the American space agency NASA, explaining that the mission was completed due to damage to the blades of the device.
NASA clarified that the helicopter damaged one or more rotor blades during landing. The size of the device is only about 20 centimeters, and the span of the blades is up to 120 centimeters.
The helicopter operated for almost three years instead of the expected 30 days. As agency chief Bill Nelson noted, Ingenuity’s journey was historic—it “went higher and further than we ever imagined” and helped NASA “make the impossible possible.” But the mission “has come to an end.”
Let us remind you that the helicopter acted as a rover and reconnaissance vehicle for the Perseverance rover, sent to Mars in July 2020. He first landed on Mars on February 18, 2021. On April 19, the helicopter took off from the rover and made its first controlled flight. On January 18, 2024, the helicopter was supposed to make a short vertical takeoff, but during landing, contact with it was lost – contact was restored the next day, but the helicopter could no longer take off.
The helicopter operated on Mars for about three years, completed 72 flights, made three emergency landings and “survived the cold Martian winter.” After the mission is completed, the NASA team will conduct final tests of the helicopter’s systems and download remaining data from its internal memory.
Source: Rosbalt
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