Ingenuity Comes to an End

The Mars Helicopter mission started by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has come to an end. This mission had Ingenuity- a helicopter made to study the possibility of life on planet Mars. It was the first powered aircraft that could fly on a different planet. 

Ingenuity was sent to Mars on the Mars Perseverance Rover mission in February 2021, and it took its first flight on 19th April of the same year. This miniature helicopter flew by spinning its rotor 2400 times per minute. Originally designed to perform five flights during 30 days, this helicopter exceeded expectations by performing seventy-two flights over almost three years. This helicopter survived cold and dusty weather on Mars, despite not being prepared for it. However, on 18th January 2024, Ingenuity lost connection during its 72nd flight, and after a few days, it sent a photo which revealed that one of its rotor blades had broken off. 

The administrator of NASA, Bill Nelson, took to the social media platform X to announce the end of the Mars helicopter mission. He wrote: 

“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,”

The NASA scientists will perform final tests on Ingenuity’s systems and download the remaining images and data from the helicopter’s memory. One scientist remarked that by studying Ingenuity, they will be able to build a future helicopter which will be more advanced.