Mission of NASA's Ingenuity helicopter on Mars officially comes to a close

The journey of Ingenuity, the first in-flight machine in another world, ended after almost three years announced NASA. According to officials from the agency, the crucial, flight-creating quadcopter was damaged, particularly a rotor blade, making it unfit for flight as of January 25.

“The unavoidable end doesn't make it less difficult, even if we were anticipating it,” stated Lori Glaze, Director of NASA’s planetary science division during a media briefing focused on the situation of the quad-copter.

Nostalgia has already hit many members of the Ingenuity team as they reminisce on the many feats the mission accomplished. “Seeing a chopper outperform as profoundly as this one did makes it impossible to grieve or feel sad about it,” expressed Håvard Fjær Grip, the chief pilot for the mission and a NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer.

Tagged as Ginny among friends, Ingenuity accompanied NASA’s car-sized rover Perseverance during its Mars landing in February 2021. A couple of months later, the compact copter whirled its rotor blades, ascended the thin Martian atmosphere, elevated to three meters, and snapped a picture of Perseverance during the first trial flight.

The flying robot outdid initial predictions, which was to take a few flights over a month-long period. The primary idea was to prove the feasibility of flying on Mars, before landing it. Instead, Ingenuity achieved a whopping 72 flights, traversed 14 times beyond the planned distance, and logged in two hours worth of flight time. Apart from flying, the copter significantly contributed to the science mission by making 3-D maps of the local topography, exploring areas Perseverance couldn't access, and scouting potential areas for the rover's scientific observations.

Ingenuity played a crucial role in the revelation that unlike on Earth, the pace of sound in the Martian atmosphere is subject to pitch, likely owing to it being rich in carbon-dioxide. It also demonstrated self-sufficiency in selecting landing sites, cleaning itself post dust storms, and taking numerous amazing snaps of the Martian surface, often inclusive of its shadow.

As reported by NASA on January 19, Ingenuity momentarily lost contact with the Perseverance rover, during its descent in the 72nd flight. Though the connection was regained, the damage from the fall rendered the mini-helicopter permanently grounded.

Upon receiving images confirming the damage to the helicopter, Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity’s project manager, admitted there was initial sadness. “But this was almost immediately replaced with happiness, pride, and a sense of celebration for what we’ve achieved.”