#mars helicopter

[mindblowingscience]

NASA's pioneering helicopter Ingenuity has made its final Mars flight. Ingenuity — the first-ever robot to ply the skies of an alien world — suffered rotor-blade damage during its most recent hop and "is no longer capable of flight," NASA announced today (Jan. 25). "The historic journey of Ingenuity, the first aircraft on another planet, has come to an end," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in an agency statement. 

Continue Reading.

[lonestarflight]

The Ingenuity Rover's Helicopter, nicknamed Ginny, is broken and alone

"In this most recent photo of Ingenuity, the dual-rotor 'copter can be seen motionless on a sandy dune in the background, as a barren, rocky Mars landscape fills the foreground.

The photo was taken on Feb. 4, 2024, at 1:05 p.m. local mean solar time, a little over two weeks since it suffered its mission-ending damage.

NASA and JPL's Ingenuity helicopter on the surface of Mars as seen by the Perseverance rover's Mastcam-Z camera on Feb. 4, 2024.

Ingenuity suffered damage to its rotors during a flight on Jan. 18 as it made a landing on a featureless, "bland" patch of sandy Martian landscape. The helicopter usually makes use of landscape features such as rocks to help it navigate, but its 72nd flight found the drone without visual cues.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is still analyzing the damage to Ingenuity's blades, but regardless of what JPL finds, the helicopter's mission has officially come to an end now that it's no longer capable of flight.

Ingenuity landed alongside its robotic companion, the Perseverance rover, on Feb. 18, 2021. When it took to the Martian skies in April 2021, Ingenuity made history by conducting the first flight of a powered aircraft on another planet.

The Ingenuity-Perseverance duo has been exploring an area known as Jezero Crater ever since, discovering signs of ancient bodies of water on the Red Planet that may have once harbored life billions of years ago. Ingenuity served as a scout for Perseverance, identifying areas of interest for the rover to explore.

In recent weeks as NASA and JPL have been coming to terms with the end of Ingenuity's groundbreaking mission, agency leaders have praised the helicopter and the teams behind it.

'We couldn't be prouder or happier with how our little baby has done,' said Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity Project Manager at JPL, during a livestreamed tribute to the helicopter on Jan. 31. 'It's been the mission of a lifetime for all of us. And I wanted to say thank you to all of the people here that gave their weekends, their late nights. All the engineers, the aerodynamic scientists, the technicians who hand-crafted this aircraft.'

Tiffany Morgan, NASA's Mars Exploration Program Deputy Director, added that Ingenuity leaves behind a legacy that could pave the way for future aerial missions on other worlds.

This image, which shows the shadow of a damaged rotor on NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity, was taken after its 72nd and final flight on Jan. 18, 2024 on the Red Planet.

'The NASA JPL team didn't just demonstrate the technology, they demonstrated an approach that if we use in the future will really help us to explore other planets and be as awe-inspiring, as amazing, as Ingenuity has been,' Morgan said during the livestream.

NASA is already developing another drone destined for another world, the nuclear-powered Dragonfly, to someday explore Saturn's largest moon, Titan. The agency expects Dragonfly to launch no earlier than 2028."

[roversrovers]

Ingenuity retired on the 20th anniversary of Opportunity landing on Mars 🥲

two remarkable pieces of engineering that exceeded our expectations and yet still feel like they are gone too soon 🧡

[roboticsappreciationsociety]

By Ashley Strickland, CNN

After completing 72 historic flights on Mars over three years, NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter mission has ended.

Originally designed as an experiment, Ingenuity became the first aircraft to operate and fly on another world, lifting off on April 19, 2021.

Imagery and data returned to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, showed that one or more of the chopper’s carbon fiber rotor blades was damaged while landing during its final flight this month. The team determined that the helicopter is no longer able to fly, according to the space agency.

Ingenuity, which had traveled to Mars as the Perseverance rover’s trusty sidekick, is sitting upright on the surface of the red planet, and mission controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory have been able to maintain communications with the rotorcraft.

[riverofrainbows]

A comic commemorating ingenuity the mars helicopter, by Tom Lum:

A link to where the comic was originally posted:

(https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGeBNkGjs/)

Original caption: Made a comic about ingenuity's last landing inspired by Celeste Labedz and JP Major

Posted here with permission by the comic author, to remember ingenuity and because i thought people here would really like the comic.

[newdougsblog]

RIP Ingenuity you were a real one 🧡

[meteorologistaustenlonek]

After Three Years on Mars, NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Mission Ends

"The end of an era. One of its main rotor blades is damaged, and the helicopter will not fly again. While the helicopter remains upright and in communication with ground controllers, imagery of its Jan. 18 flight sent to Earth this week indicates one or more of its rotor blades sustained damage during landing and it is no longer capable of flight." #ThanksIngenuity #ThanksIngenuity

[percynginny]

Who is Europa and why is there a thing for it

-Ingenuity

[thepastisalreadywritten]

[sepdet]

quick celebration of Ingenuity's mission:

Or, for a more in-depth play by play of Ginny's pioneering flights, Astrum's vids on Mars missions are always fun and informative. Ginny coverage starts around the four minute mark.:

[newsbirdeye]

Unveiling the Marvel: Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Soars Beyond Boundaries

IntroductionPioneering AutonomyExtraordinary FirstsThin Martian Atmosphere: A Challenge OvercomeBeyond ExpectationsAerial Scouting for PerseveranceCommunication HurdlesEngineering Brilliance Introduction In the realm of celestial exploration, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter stands as a groundbreaking marvel, transcending the limits of extraterrestrial flight. As we delve into the intricacies of…

[homofocused]

I made a terrible oversight when making this post by not thinking of Ingenuity, a little Mars helicopter and Perseverance's best friend. Today, we got confirmation that Ingenuity, who was not a dog but a bird, sustained rotor damage on its 72nd flight and is now, sadly, grounded. Thank you, Ginny, for everything you taught us.

Fly high, little bird; I'm sure Percy will miss you 🧡

mars rovers... they are like dogs to me

[merelygifted]

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter breaks altitude record on 59th Mars flight | Space

The little chopper rose 66 feet (20 meters) above the red dirt during its Sept. 16 sortie.

[sudden-stops-kill]

#thanksingenuity