NASA's 'remarkable' Ingenuity takes its final flight on Mars

Mark Moran
·4 min read
An illustration depicts the Mars helicopter Ingenuity on the Red Planet. The craft sustained rotor damage and has taken its final flight, NASA said Thursday. Image courtesy of NASA
An illustration depicts the Mars helicopter Ingenuity on the Red Planet. The craft sustained rotor damage and has taken its final flight, NASA said Thursday. Image courtesy of NASA

Jan. 25 (UPI) -- After a mission that lasted 33 times longer than scientists had expected, NASA's Ingenuity helicopter has taken its final flight on Mars, NASA announced Thursday.

"The historic journey of Ingenuity, the first aircraft on another planet, has come to an end. It is bittersweet that I must announce that Ingenuity, the little helicopter that could -- and it kept saying, 'I think I can, I think I can' -- well, it has now taken its last flight on Mars," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in an agency statement.

"That remarkable helicopter flew higher and farther than we ever imagined and helped NASA do what we do best -- make the impossible, possible."

The craft's mission lasted for almost 1,000 Martian days, even though it had only been scheduled to span 30 in a technology demonstration.

Ingenuity, affectionately referred to by scientists and engineers as "Ginny," remained operational on the surface of Mars for nearly three years, achieved 72 flights, stayed aloft for a total of 129 minutes, and covered nearly 11 miles of ground, according to the mission's flight log.

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter snaps a photo of its shadow on Nov. 6, 2021, during the aircraft's Flight 15. The craft sustained rotor damage and has taken its final flight, NASA said Thursday. Photo courtesy of NASA
NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter snaps a photo of its shadow on Nov. 6, 2021, during the aircraft's Flight 15. The craft sustained rotor damage and has taken its final flight, NASA said Thursday. Photo courtesy of NASA

Ingenuity's rotor blades suffered damage on its Thursday flight, rendering it inoperable for future missions, and it experienced communication problems with NASA during what would be its final flight.

"Communications between the helicopter and rover terminated early, prior to touchdown," the statement said.

An illustration depicts NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity flying on the Red Planet. The craft sustained rotor damage and has taken its final flight, NASA said Thursday. Image courtesy of NASA
An illustration depicts NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity flying on the Red Planet. The craft sustained rotor damage and has taken its final flight, NASA said Thursday. Image courtesy of NASA

But Nelson said the helicopter's success presaged a promising future for similar NASA flights within our solar system and smarter, safer exploration on Mars and beyond.

Ingenuity landed in Jezero Crater in February 2021 alongside NASA's Perseverance rover and was responsible for proving that flight is possible in the thin Martian atmosphere.

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter can be seen hovering during its third flight on April 25, 2021, as seen by the left Navigation Camera aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover. The craft sustained rotor damage and has taken its final flight, NASA said Thursday. Photo courtesy of NASA
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter can be seen hovering during its third flight on April 25, 2021, as seen by the left Navigation Camera aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover. The craft sustained rotor damage and has taken its final flight, NASA said Thursday. Photo courtesy of NASA

The 4 lb. craft, about the size of a tissue box, made its first-ever flight in April 2021 and was initially launched as a month-long technology demonstration.

After thoroughly proving itself up to that task by completing five flights that spring, NASA dispatched Ingenuity to accompany Perseverance as it drilled for and collected samples in a hunt for ancient signs of life on the Red Planet.

Ingenuity eventually completed 67 missions, far beyond what scientists and engineers had expected.

"It's almost an understatement to say that it has surpassed expectations," Lori Glaze, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division, said at a press conference on Thursday.

"Ingenuity absolutely shattered our paradigm of exploration, introducing this new dimension of aerial mobility."

Ingenuity's success and longevity were made even more remarkable considering that the little helicopter was made with parts that were mostly "off the shelf" components commonly used in Earth-based drones or computers, Teddy Tzanetos, the NASA Ingenuity team lead, said in a November, 2021 interview.

"Any flight could be our last, frankly," Tzanetos said then. "So it won't be a surprise to us if and when we see some of its parts fail. But that could be a fantastic discovery ... a new data point for us to understand flight on another planet."

The unexpected duration of Ingenuity's working life forced engineers to update its software and come up with other necessary adjustments on the fly, including making the chopper's blades spin faster to account for the warmer summer time air in the Jezero Crater.

"The best part is rolling with the punches and tweaking how it flies to accommodate what's happening on Mars. It's extremely exciting to go through that process," Tzanetos said in November, 2021.

The mission isn't quite over yet. NASA will conduct final tests and download data. Tzanetos also said that Perseverance eventually may come close enough to get some low-quality photographs of Ingenuity, though now it is too far away to see the helicopter.

Though its flying days are over, NASA said the helicopter's success will help inform future missions and aerial exploration of the Red Plant.

NASA has already announced plans to send two Ingenuity-like crafts to help Perseverance collect samples for return to Earth, and the agency is developing larger and more capable helicopters that could someday conduct science missions of their own on Mars.