NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has concluded its historic mission on the Red Planet, exceeding expectations and completing more flights than originally planned. Although the helicopter remains in communication with ground controllers, recent imagery indicates that one or more of its rotor blades sustained damage during landing, rendering it incapable of flight.
Originally designed for up to five experimental test flights over 30 days, Ingenuity far surpassed these expectations. Over the course of almost three years, it performed an impressive 72 flights and flew more than 14 times farther than initially planned. With a total flight time of over two hours, Ingenuity has made history as the first aircraft to operate on another planet.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson expressed his admiration for Ingenuity’s accomplishments, stating, “That remarkable helicopter flew higher and farther than we ever imagined and helped NASA do what we do best – make the impossible, possible.” He emphasized that missions like Ingenuity are paving the way for future flight in our solar system and advancing human exploration to Mars and beyond.
To discuss the Ingenuity mission’s conclusion, NASA will host a media teleconference featuring key participants. This includes Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division, Laurie Leshin, director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity project manager at NASA JPL. The teleconference will provide updates on the Mars Helicopter and will be available for live streaming on NASA’s website.
Ingenuity landed on Mars on February 18, 2021, attached to NASA’s Perseverance rover. It successfully lifted off from the Martian surface on April 19, proving the possibility of powered, controlled flight on Mars. After four additional flights, Ingenuity transitioned into an operations demonstration, serving as an aerial scout for Perseverance scientists and rover drivers. In 2023, the helicopter executed two successful flight tests that expanded the team’s knowledge of its aerodynamic limits.
Laurie Leshin, director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, expressed her pride in the team behind this historic achievement and their commitment to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. She eagerly anticipates their future inventions and innovations.
During its final flight on January 18, Ingenuity was intended to make a short vertical flight to determine its location after an emergency landing on its previous flight. The helicopter achieved a maximum altitude of 40 feet and hovered for 4.5 seconds before beginning its descent at a velocity of 3.3 feet per second. However, approximately 3 feet above the surface, Ingenuity lost contact with the rover, which serves as its communication relay. Communication was reestablished the following day, and ground controllers received more information about the flight. Several days later, imagery revealed damage to one of the rotor blades, and investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of the communications dropout and the helicopter’s orientation during touchdown.
Ingenuity’s extended mission lasted nearly 1,000 Martian days, over 33 times longer than planned. Throughout this time, it faced various challenges and triumphs. The helicopter autonomously selected landing sites in treacherous terrain, overcame a dead sensor, cleaned itself after dust storms, operated from 48 different airfields, performed three emergency landings, and survived a frigid Martian winter.
Ingenuity’s ability to power its heaters during the coldest parts of winter was limited, resulting in periodic freezing and resetting of the flight computer. The team had to redesign Ingenuity’s winter operations to ensure continued flight despite these power “brownouts.”
With flight operations now concluded, the Ingenuity team will conduct final tests on the helicopter systems and retrieve remaining imagery and data from its onboard memory. Unfortunately, the Perseverance rover is currently too far away to capture images of the helicopter at its final airfield.
Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity’s project manager at NASA JPL, expressed his gratitude for the passion and dedication of the Ingenuity and Perseverance teams. He emphasized the significant impact of the first Mars helicopter on the future of space exploration, inspiring fleets of aircraft on Mars and other worlds for decades to come.
The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was developed by NASA JPL and managed by the same institution. It received support from NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, with significant flight performance analysis and technical assistance provided by NASA’s Ames Research Center and Langley Research Center. AeroVironment Inc., Qualcomm, and SolAero contributed to design assistance and major vehicle components. Lockheed Space designed and manufactured the Mars Helicopter Delivery System. Dave Lavery serves as the program executive for the Ingenuity Mars helicopter at NASA Headquarters.
For more information about Ingenuity, visit the official NASA website dedicated to the helicopter’s technology.
-end-
