He has flown many times longer and more often than the NASA team had previously thought and hoped, and he was not yet technically at the end of his tether. Yet last week, after three years, the mission of the Ingenuity Mars helicopter came to an end. No, not because the battery or solar panels have failed – much later than expected. The reason Ingenuity’s flying days are over is a crash during its 72e – and therefore last – flight.
Emergency landing became Ingenuity’s Waterloo
On January 18, the Mars helicopter started its 72nd yeare flight above the surface of the Red Planet. It had to be ended early. After the emergency landing, Ingenuity was back on its feet again, but the helicopter did not escape unscathed.
One or more of its rotors were damaged during the emergency landing. The NASA team was eventually able to see this based on photos sent to Earth by the helicopter itself. The shadow of at least one rotor can be seen on it and it is missing some things at the end. As a result, NASA has concluded, the helicopter can no longer fly.
And that is of course very sad. Especially since at the start of the mission, Ingenuity was expected to last a maximum of about five flights. At least, that was the number of flights NASA took into account. Ultimately there were 72, but it could have been more. After all, Ingenuity is still alive. The team on Earth still has contact with the helicopter and can in principle still operate it, but due to the broken rotor, flying is no longer an option.
Almost three years on Mars
The Ingenuity, along with the Perseverance Mars rover, landed on the Red Planet on February 18, 2021. In his active time he made more than 70 flights. After more than a year, in March 2022, the team at NASA expressed its surprise that the helicopter could still fly. In April of 2023, yet another milestone was achieved when Ingenuity completed its 49e flight flew higher and faster than ever; 16 meters (52 feet) above the Martian surface, the helicopter reached a speed of 23.3 kilometers per hour (14.5 mph). Time for a tribute, they thought at NASA. Rightly so!
