Technologue.id, Jakarta – The United States (US) space agency, NASA, was recently unable to fly the Mars Ingenuity helicopter due to damage to the propeller. Until now, the cause of the vehicle damage is still unknown.
Even though it can’t get back into the air, NASA will still move Ingenuity’s propellers or wings to check the extent of the damage and analyze what caused the problem. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) scientist and Ingenuity team leader Teddy Tzanetos noted that he and his team plan to rotate and “wiggle” Ingenuity’s wings slightly over the next few days.
In its final days, Ingenuity was tasked with recording video as it moved and spun in a last-ditch effort to help NASA understand as much as possible about its demise.
The first man-made aircraft to perform a controlled flight on another planet has achieved success because its achievements exceeded NASA’s expectations. On the red and dusty planet, Ingenuity was able to complete at least five flights, far exceeding estimates of 72 flights since landing on Mars in 2021.
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“The NASA JPL team is not just demonstrating the technology,” NASA Mars Exploration Program Deputy Director Tiffany Morgan said during the live broadcast, according to Space.com. “They demonstrate an approach that if we use in the future will really help us to do just that, explore other planets and be amazing like Ingenuity,” he said.
Ingenuity is proving to be a great partner for NASA’s still-developing Mars Perseverance rover. As the rover moves across the red planet’s surface, Ingenuity is able to provide air support, observing the Martian surface for interesting features and potential hazards.
As Morgan reported in his live broadcast, this “allows planners to navigate the terrain as well as identify potentially interesting science targets.”
2024-02-03 13:10:41
#Mission #Ends #NASA #Monitors #Ingenuity #Propeller #Damage
