NASA said goodbye to the Martian helicopter Ingenuity (4 photos)

In the frame: the shadow of a damaged blade





On January 25, NASA head Bill Nelson officially announced the failure of the Ingenuity Mars helicopter, delivered to the Red Planet in 2021 along with the American Perseverance rover. The mission was terminated when at least one of Ingenuity's blades failed during an unsuccessful landing after its 72nd flight on January 18. The damage is visible in a photograph of the blade's shadow taken by the helicopter's camera.

After almost three years of work on Mars, the Ingenuity mission can be called extremely successful. Initially, NASA expected the helicopter to make only five test flights to demonstrate its capabilities, but then its mission was extended indefinitely. As a result, Ingenuity took off from the Martian surface 72 times - with its help, specialists on Earth studied the Martian surface to plan routes for the Perseverance rover, which continues its work collecting soil samples.

In total, Ingenuity spent almost 129 minutes in flight, covering 17 kilometers. The maximum height to which the helicopter rose in the rarefied Martian atmosphere was 24 meters. The data obtained with its help is planned to be used to create new aircraft for Mars.



This is what the immediate surroundings looked like from above during the 70th helicopter flight at the end of December 2023





Ingenuity took this photo from a height of five meters in August 2023 during its 54th flight. A piece of the Perseverance rover is visible at the top of the frame.



This is what Ingenuity was captured by the Perseverance rover in April 2023 from a distance of 23 meters.