Ingenuity Mars Helicopter’s Three-Yr Mission: To Show It Might Be Finished

Posted On Feb 19, 2024 By admin With Comments Off

What began as little more than a “proof of concept” demonstration with only five planned test flights became one of NASA’s greatest success stories. The Ingenuity Mars helicopter ended a three-year mission on the Red Planet in January 2024. In that time, the helicopter performed a total of 72 flights and flew 14 times farther than initially planned. In total, Ingenuity spent over two hours in the Martian skies.

“The historic journey of Ingenuity, the first aircraft on another planet, has come to an end,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “That remarkable helicopter flew higher and farther than we ever imagined and helped NASA do what we do best – 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.”

Where and When the Ingenuity Mars Mission Began

NASA had a lot of ambition when it decided to launch the Perseverance rover with Ingenuity in tow back in 2020. NASA used a good chunk of its budget over the years and invested approximately $2.4 billion to build and launch the Mars 2020 Perseverance mission, and luckily, Perseverance’s missions, along with Ingenuity’s surprising success, taught NASA scientists a lot about Mars.

While it wasn’t cheap, this $80 million project sure packed a punch. Essentially a sensor-packed drone, Ingenuity was designed and built by NASA Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL). Support for the program came mainly from NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, and NASA’s Langley Research Center. The engineering and design teams faced numerous challenges during the development stage, especially the untested effects of the Martian atmosphere on aerodynamics.

The team attached Ingenuity to the underside of NASA’s Perseverance rover, which successfully landed on Mars on February 18, 2021. However, Ingenuity itself did not deploy for several months after the landing. The guidance team sent the first commands for Ingenuity to make a brief hop from the surface on April 19 of that year. This seconds-long test flight proved that controlled flight on Mars was indeed possible. Four more brief test flights were conducted, each expanding on the success of the first one.

By now a proven piece of technology, Ingenuity began serving in several capacities, including an operations demonstration and aerial scout for the Perseverance team of scientists and engineers. Two major flight tests in 2023 provided NASA JPL with the data it needed to determine Ingenuity’s aerodynamic limits, where it ascended at least 40 feet into the air and maintained a safe landing orientation.

The Self-Contained Ingenuity Helicopter That Could

Ingenuity’s unplanned extended mission required a series of upgrades to be programmed and transmitted from Earth after it performed the initial five planned test flights. Since the drone would fly into uncharted territory, it could select the best landing zones autonomously. Ingenuity was also able to create a workaround following the failure of a sensor. Other challenges included a self-cleaning function after encountering dust storms and three emergency landings.

Because Ingenuity was initially designed to work during spring months, it was not equipped with heaters sufficient for cold Martian winter nights. Its flight computer experienced numerous freezing and thawing cycles, requiring the team to implement an emergency winter operations plan.

While the Perseverance rover served as Ingenuity’s point of contact with Mission Control, the helicopter could still take off and land at 48 separate airfields once it received its commands. Data collected from those flights was stored electronically for future retrieval and analysis. Perseverance’s onboard cameras also provided valuable information for the team back on Earth about Ingenuity’s location, orientation, and condition in case the drone was out of position for take-offs or landings.

The Final Days of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Mission

Recently, Ingenuity lost contact with Perseverance and the mission team during its final flight. When communications were re-established the following day, the team discovered that one of Ingenuity’s rotor blades sustained damage during the final landing. Ingenuity was declared no longer capable of flight. Specialists are still collecting and analyzing data from that incident to shed light on the cause of the rotor damage and communications blackout.

Although the mission may have ended unexpectedly, the agencies responsible for its historical success still praise its significance. “It’s humbling Ingenuity not only carries onboard a swatch from the original Wright Flyer but also this helicopter followed in its footsteps and proved flight is possible on another world,” explains Teddy Tzanetos of NASA JPL, Ingenuity’s project manager.

“The Mars helicopter would have never flown once, much less 72 times, if it were not for the passion and dedication of the Ingenuity and Perseverance teams. History’s first Mars helicopter will leave behind an indelible mark on the future of space exploration and will inspire fleets of aircraft on Mars – and other worlds – for decades to come.”

This article was produced by Media Decision and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.

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