NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter mission on Mars ended on January 25, 2024, after the helicopter’s final flight on January 18, 2024. The helicopter was the first aircraft to fly on another planet, completing 72 flights over the course of three years. 

NASA ended the mission after evidence that at least one of Ingenuity’s rotor blades was damaged during its final landing. The helicopter’s mission evolved to help its wheeled companion search for signs of ancient microbial life on Mars

NASA said on Thursday its Mars robot helicopter Ingenuity, the first vehicle to achieve powered, controlled flight on another world, has been grounded for good after flying dozens of times over three years, ending a landmark mission that far exceeded all expectations

While the helicopter, which weighs four pounds (around two kilograms), remains upright and in communication with mission control, images from its last flight on January 18 indicate “one or more” of its rotor blades sustained damage during landing, meaning it is no longer capable of flight

How many flights did Ingenuity make?

Ingenuity ultimately buzzed over the Martian terrain 14 times farther than originally planned, logging more than two hours, eight minutes of flight time and covering a distance of 10.5 miles (17 km) through all 72 flights

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter completed its 72nd and final flight on January 18, 2024. Although the helicopter remains upright and in communication with ground controllers, imagery from its last flight indicates one or more of its rotor blades sustained damage during landing, and it is no longer capable of flight. 

The helicopter, which weighs four pounds (around two kilograms), helped pave the way for future flight in our solar system and smarter, safer human exploration to Mars and beyond

Ingenuity was originally designed as an experiment, but became the first aircraft to fly on another world. On April 19, 2021, Ingenuity lifted off and made the first powered, controlled flight on another planet

Ingenuity was part of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission and operated on Mars from 2021 to 2024. The helicopter was attached to the underside of the Perseverance rover when it arrived on Mars on April 3, 2021. 

Ingenuity’s flights demonstrated that it could fly in Mars’ extremely thin atmosphere, which is only 0.6% as dense as Earth’s. The helicopter also proved that flight was possible on other planets without direct human control. 

Ingenuity performed 72 flights and flew more than 14 times farther than planned. However, imagery from its January 18, 2024 flight indicates that one or more of its rotor blades were damaged during landing, and it is no longer capable of flight.

Before the mission, engineers used a large vacuum chamber to simulate the low pressure of Mars’ atmosphere. The chamber was filled with carbon dioxide to about 0.60% of the standard atmospheric pressure at sea level on Earth. This is roughly equivalent to a helicopter flying at 112,000 ft altitude

Engineers also used the Lab’s 25-foot Space Simulator thermal vacuum chamber to simulate conditions on Mars. The chamber was evacuated of atmosphere and backfilled with CO2 to produce a 7 Torr pressure environment. 

Engineers also used pen and paper to analyze the fundamentals and build simulation models

Ingenuity was sent to Mars to test whether powered, controlled flight was possible on another planet. Ingenuity’s purpose was to demonstrate the viability of aerial robots for planetary exploration

Ingenuity also served as a scouting partner to the Perseverance rover, aiding in the search for evidence of ancient life on Mars. Ingenuity often flew ahead of the rover’s planned path to scout the landscape for potential obstacles ahead. 

Ingenuity also enabled science by allowing researchers to study how its blades kicked up dust clouds into the red planet’s thin atmosphere

Ingenuity has made several discoveries on Mars, including:

• Tilted rocks Ingenuity captured images of unusual tilted rocks that could provide more information about the history of Jezero Crater. 
• 3D views During its 13th flight, Ingenuity provided a 3D view of a rock-covered mound in Jezero Crater. Ingenuity and Perseverance landed together in February 2021 on the floor of Jezero Crater. Jezero Crater is 28 miles wide and billions of years ago it had a large lake and river delta

Ingenuity can fly in Mars’s thin atmosphere because its blades spin much faster than Earth helicopters’ blades. Ingenuity’s blades are also larger and the helicopter itself is lighter than Earth helicopters

Ingenuity’s blades are specially shaped and must rotate between 2400 and 2900 rpm to keep the helicopter aloft. This is about 10 times faster than what is needed on Earth. 

Ingenuity’s carbon-fiber blades are arranged into two rotors, each of which stretches 4 feet (1.2 m) from tip to tip. The helicopter’s small body and the incredible speed of its blades allow it to fly. 

Ingenuity also benefits from Mars’s low density, which means low drag. This means that the fuselage and airframe don’t need to be shaped. 

However, Ingenuity still needs some air to function. It wouldn’t be able to fly on the Moon, which has no air.

The Martian atmosphere is extremely thin, which makes it difficult for aircraft to generate enough lift. The atmosphere is 95% carbon dioxide and has only 1% of the pressure at the surface compared to Earth. This means there are fewer air molecules for Ingenuity’s rotor blades to interact with. 

The lower gravity of Mars (about a third of Earth’s) only partially offsets the thinness of the atmosphere. The lack of density is why the helicopter needs large rotors to lift a relatively small weight. 

Other challenges of flying on Mars include:

• Propulsion and control: The thin air makes propulsion and control more difficult. 
• Power: The helicopter is solar powered, but there isn’t much sun on Mars. 
• Aerodynamics: A rotor speed of 2,800 rpm, in combination with wind and helicopter motion, could cause the tips of the rotor blades to encounter the air at nearly 0.8 Mach. 

Ingenuity is a box-shaped drone with two 1.2-meter-long carbon-fiber blades. It was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and is a test vehicle

Ingenuity is a technology demonstration, so it doesn’t have any science instruments on board. Instead, it carries two cameras, along with custom-made and off-the-shelf components, including many from cell phone technology. 

Ingenuity is a trailblazer of interplanetary spacecraft. It exceeded its initial life expectancy and its required altitude and flight duration specifications

For one thing, Mars’ thin atmosphere makes it difficult to achieve enough lift. Because the Mars atmosphere is 99% less dense than Earth’s, Ingenuity has to be light, with rotor blades that are much larger and spin much faster than what would be required for a helicopter of Ingenuity’s mass on Earth

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter mission ended on January 18, 2024, after a portion of one of its rotor blades broke off during its 72nd and final flight. The damage left the helicopter unable to operate. 

Ingenuity landed on Mars in February 2021 and made its first flight on April 19, 2021. The helicopter’s mission ended after three years. 

NASA says the mission “shattered our paradigm of exploration, introducing this new dimension of aerial mobility”. The agency also says the mission has proven that powered, controlled flight is possible on other worlds.

The fate of Ingenuity was sealed when imagery beamed back to Earth after its 72nd and final flight on Jan. 18 showed that a portion of one of the miniature whirligig’s twin rotor blades had broken off, leaving it incapable of further operation, NASA officials said

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