NASA’s Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, has officially been retired after an impressive 72 flights over the course of nearly three years. The decision to retire the helicopter came after NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) discovered rotor damage following a routine flight to check the helicopter’s systems. Although Ingenuity was still upright and in communication with ground controllers, it was deemed unfit for further flights. Initial images released by NASA showed damage to the tip of at least one rotor blade, but subsequent low-resolution pictures revealed a missing upper rotor blade.
However, new images captured by the Perseverance rover’s SuperCam Remote Micro-Imager on February 25 provide a clearer view of the damage, shedding more light on the fate of Ingenuity. Simeon Schmauß, a GeoVisual Design student at the Munich University of Applied Sciences, reprocessed the raw data uploaded to NASA’s Perseverance mission website and shared enhanced images that offer a better understanding of what happened to the helicopter.
According to Schmauß’s reprocessed images, the damage to the tip of one rotor blade was just a part of the story. The detached rotor blade is clearly visible in the images and is located approximately 15 meters away from the helicopter. Interestingly, it also exhibits the same damage to its tip as the blades that remain attached. This suggests that the damage may have occurred before the rotor blade separated from the helicopter. However, the exact cause of the damage is still unknown. The distance traveled by the detached rotor blade indicates that it likely detached while in flight.
NASA has not yet commented on these latest images or provided an official explanation for what happened during Ingenuity’s final flight. However, it is crucial for engineers working on the next generation of Mars helicopters to learn from Ingenuity’s demise as they prepare for future missions, such as the Mars Sample Return mission, which will utilize similar technology to retrieve samples.
Despite its ultimate fate, Ingenuity’s mission can be considered a resounding success. Originally designed to complete only five flights, the fact that it managed to achieve 72 flights before retirement is truly remarkable. The helicopter has surpassed all expectations and has paved the way for future advancements in Mars exploration.