NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter, the pioneering aircraft that soared through Mars’ thin atmosphere, has crashed after nearly three years of defying expectations, leaving engineers to unravel the mystery behind its final flight.
At a Glance
- Ingenuity completed 72 flights, far exceeding its initial 5-flight mission plan
- The helicopter crashed on January 18, 2024, during its final flight due to navigation errors
- Despite the crash, Ingenuity continues to function as a weather station on Mars
- NASA is conducting its first aircraft accident investigation on another world
- Lessons learned from Ingenuity will shape future Mars exploration missions
A Trailblazing Mission Comes to an End
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, the first aircraft to achieve powered, controlled flight on another planet, has ended its groundbreaking mission after a crash during its 72nd flight on January 18, 2024.
But what caused it?
This remarkable feat came nearly three years after its initial deployment, far surpassing its original 30-day mission plan with just five test flights.
The helicopter’s final flight was intended to be a brief vertical hop to assess flight systems and photograph the area. However, during its descent from a 40-foot altitude, Ingenuity encountered severe rotor blade damage, leading to a loss of communication with the Perseverance rover, its link to Earth.
New images confirm the #MarsHelicopter sustained rotor damage during Flight 72. Our helicopter has flown its final flight.
Ingenuity defied the odds and captured our hearts. #ThanksIngenuity for showing us what’s possible when we dare mighty things. https://t.co/KC2atKpB8k pic.twitter.com/tLw5I3cKmH
— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) January 25, 2024
Just as NASA launched the first helicopter on another planet, NASA has since launched its first investigation into a helicopter crash on another planet. The investigation’s preliminary findings suggest that navigation system errors, stemming from a lack of surface texture information, led to the mission’s abrupt end.
“When running an accident investigation from 100 million miles away, you don’t have any black boxes or eyewitnesses,” said Ingenuity’s first pilot, Håvard Grip of JPL. “While multiple scenarios are viable with the available data, we have one we believe is most likely: Lack of surface texture gave the navigation system too little information to work with.”
The investigation revealed that high horizontal velocities at touchdown likely caused the rotor blades to snap, resulting in a complete separation of one blade and rendering the helicopter incapable of flight. This scenario highlights the challenges of navigating Mars’ unique terrain and atmosphere.
Despite its crash, Ingenuity’s mission has been hailed as a resounding success. The helicopter’s achievements have far exceeded initial projections, demonstrating higher, faster, and more extensive flights across the Martian surface than previously thought possible.
“Because Ingenuity was designed to be affordable while demanding huge amounts of computer power, we became the first mission to fly commercial off-the-shelf cellphone processors in deep space,” said Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity’s project manager. “We’re now approaching four years of continuous operations, suggesting that not everything needs to be bigger, heavier, and radiation-hardened to work in the harsh Martian environment.”
The success of Ingenuity has inspired NASA engineers to develop a new Mars Chopper rotorcraft, which would be heavier and capable of carrying scientific equipment.
Yes, NASA is sending another aircraft to Mars.
This next-generation aircraft could potentially transform future Mars exploration strategies, allowing for more extensive and detailed surveys of the planet’s surface.
