End of historical mission. The small robotic Ingenuity helicopter on Mars has damaged its propeller and is unable to fly, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced on Thursday.
However, the performance of the helicopter, which was the first in history to be able to fly on another planet using an engine, exceeded even the greatest expectations. “This remarkable helicopter flew higher and further than we could ever imagine,” he said on the social network X NASA Director Bill Nelson when announcing that the helicopter’s 72nd flight was his last.
At the same time, Ingenuity (Ingenuity) had the task of taking off five times in thirty days at the beginning of the mission, which together with the Perseverance rover (Perseverance) launched on Mars on February 18, 2021. However, the helicopter flew on and flew a route 14 times longer than planned and spent air 33 times more time. And he survived the harsh winter.
Weighing less than two kilograms, the machine had no scientific instruments, the goal was to test whether it is possible to fly on Mars in this way. When it was confirmed, they also used it for reconnaissance flights around the area.
The last time the helicopter took off was on January 18, and during the flight it lost contact with the Perseverance rover, through which it transmitted information and was controlled. Contact was reestablished and images from the helicopter arrived on Earth days later showing its shadow and showing that at least one of the carbon fiber propeller blades was damaged, the agency said Reuters.
Photo submitted by the damaged Ingenuity helicopter | Source: NASA
The rotor apparently hit the Martian surface during landing. NASA will now download the remaining data from the on-board computer and perform final tests. Unfortunately, the Perseverance rover is too far from the helicopter to photograph its final resting place.
Ingenuity was helping the Perseverance rover explore the Lake Crater area where water may have existed billions of years ago. The samples collected in the rover will be picked up by other expeditions in the future and should help reveal whether life once existed on Mars.
NASA compares the historic role of the helicopter to the first flight of the Wright brothers in 1903. After all, Ingenuity has a piece of their famous airplane.
NASA launched a probe into space. To land on a small planet (10/2023):
TN.cz
2024-01-26 02:39:00
#helicopter #crashed #Mars #NASA #announced #mission #TN.cz
