{"id":577625,"date":"2024-01-26T09:33:35","date_gmt":"2024-01-26T14:33:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/?p=577625"},"modified":"2024-01-26T09:34:50","modified_gmt":"2024-01-26T14:34:50","slug":"after-72-flights-nasa-says-goodbye-to-ingenuity-helicopter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/after-72-flights-nasa-says-goodbye-to-ingenuity-helicopter\/","title":{"rendered":"After 72 flights, NASA says goodbye to Ingenuity helicopter"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Ingenuity's

The Ingenuity helicopter achieved much in its nearly three years on Mars. | Source: NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/p><\/div>\n

The Ingenuity helicopter, the first ever aircraft to fly on another planet, ended its nearly three-year journey on Mars, said NASA yesterday. The helicopter, originally intended as a technology demonstration, has surpassed all of NASA’s expectations and completed dozens more flights than originally planned. <\/p>\n

While the Ingenuity remains upright and in communication with ground controllers, it will not be able to fly again. NASA received images of its Jan. 18 flight this week showing that one or more of its rotor blades had sustained damage during landing, making the helicopter<\/a> no longer capable of flight. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe historic journey of Ingenuity, the first aircraft on another planet, has come to end,\u201d said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson in a release<\/a>. \u201cThat remarkable helicopter flew higher and farther than we ever imagined and helped NASA do what we do best \u2013 make the impossible, possible. Through missions like Ingenuity, NASA is paving the way for future flight in our solar system and smarter, safer human exploration to Mars and beyond.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

On Jan. 18, Ingenuity’s team planned for the helicopter to make a short vertical flight to determine its location. The helicopter had executed an emergency landing on its previous flight, leaving NASA’s engineers unsure of exactly where it touched ground. <\/p>\n

NASA’s data shows that, as it had planned, the helicopter rose to a maximum height of 40 ft. (12 m) and hovered for 4.5 seconds before starting its descent at a velocity of 3.3 feet per second (1 meter per second). At about 3 ft. (1 m) above the Martian surface, Ingenuity lost communication with the Perseverance rover, which serves as a communications relay for the helicopter. <\/p>\n

Ingenuity’s team reestablished communications with the helicopter the following day, and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) was able to gather more information about the flight. Several days later, new images showed that a rotor blade had been damaged.<\/p>\n

The team is still investigating the cause of the communications dropout and the helicopter’s orientation when it touched down.<\/p>\n

\r\n

\"SITELearn from Agility Robotics, Amazon, Disney, Teradyne and many more.<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n

\n

Ingenuity survived the journey to Mars<\/h2>\n

When Ingenuity started its journey<\/a> on Mars, strapped to the belly of the Perseverance rover, NASA hoped it would perform at least five experimental test flights over 30 days. It first lifted off<\/a> the Martian surface on April 19, 2021, proving that powered, controlled flight on another planet was possible. It was not designed to carry payloads or execute other missions.<\/p>\n

After completing its initial mission, Ingenuity became<\/a> an operations demonstration. During this phase, it served as an aerial scout for Perseverance scientists and rover drivers. In 2023, the helicopter expanded NASA<\/a>‘s knowledge of its aerodynamic limits when it completed two successful flight tests. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt NASA JPL, innovation is at the heart of what we do,\u201d stated Laurie Leshin, director of NASA JPL. \u201cIngenuity is an exemplar of the way we push the boundaries of what\u2019s possible every day. I\u2019m incredibly proud of our team behind this historic technological achievement and eager to see what they\u2019ll invent next.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n