Nasa’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter transmitted its final message to Earth and will now serve as an immobile data-gathering unit on the red planet’s surface, the space agency said last month.
The tissue box-sized aircraft, a testament to human ingenuity, made history by achieving the first powered flight on another planet (see graphic). This remarkable feat was made possible after it hitched a ride under the belly of the Perseverance rover, which first lifted off the surface on April 19, 2021.
“A long goodbye,” Nasa said on social media site X. “Ingenuity’s team received their final message from the Ingenuity, which will now serve as a stationary test bed, collecting data that could benefit future explorers of the Red Planet.”
Originally intended only to prove flight was possible in the ultra-thin Martian atmosphere through five test runs, Ingenuity defied all expectations. It was deployed 72 times, logging more than two hours of flight time in short hops, overcoming dust storms, treacherous terrain, a dead sensor, and frigid conditions.
Its mission, a testament to the team’s resilience, evolved as an aerial scout to assist its wheeled companion in searching for signs of ancient microbial life from billions of years ago when Mars was much wetter and warmer than today.
Designed to operate in springtime, its solar-powered heating system was unable to remain on throughout the night in winter. That led to the flight computer freezing over and forced engineers to devise new protocols.
Nasa said it was attempting to bring Martian rocks collected by the Perseverance rover back to Earth faster and more cheaply. The agency is facing mounting criticism for going massively over budget.
The effort comes as China progresses towards a simpler “grab-and-go” sample return mission to Mars “around 2030,” according to state media. If successful, China will be the first to achieve this feat.
Agence France-Presse
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What has Ingenuity discovered about Mars?
While Ingenuity was not involved in any scientific discovery on Mars, it acted as a scout for its companion rover, Perseverance. By flying over rough terrain, Ingenuity helped identify areas of scientific interest and plan safer routes for the rover to navigate.
With Ingenuity’s help, Perseverance has made a few important discoveries about Jezero Crater, which is located on the eastern side of Mars. The rover found clues such as layers of mud at the bottom of the crater and mineral deposits left behind by the water, which made scientists believe it used to be a giant lake.
Perseverance also found tiny organic molecules in Martian rocks, which are the building blocks of life. Scientists are now looking to further investigate Mars based on these discoveries to determine if microbial organisms once lived there.
