NASA’s damaged Ingenuity helicopter spotted in Mars rover photo

By Trevor Mogg February 5, 2024

A Mars landscape with NASA's Ingenuity helicopter in the background. — A Mars landscape with NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter seen on the dune in the distance. NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

NASA’s Mars rover, Perseverance, has captured an image (above) showing the final resting place of the damaged Mars helicopter, Ingenuity.

Perseverance took the picture on February 4, nearly two weeks after NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) confirmed that Ingenuity had completed its 72nd and final flight on the red planet.

During that flight on January 18, Ingenuity suffered irreparable damage to a rotor blade, leaving the 4-pound- 19-inch-tall aircraft grounded for good.

In the image captured by Perseverance, we can see Ingenuity in the far distance, alone on a dune, while in the foreground, a variety of rocks dot the landscape. The image below shows the same shot cropped, with the helicopter in the center:

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter at its final resting place on Mars. — NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter at its final resting place on Mars. NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

It could be one of the last images we receive of the Ingenuity helicopter.

The remarkable drone-like machine performed well beyond expectations during its time nearly two years on the distant planet. After entering the record books in April 2021 for becoming the first aircraft to perform powered, controlled flight on another planet, Ingenuity’s mission transitioned from a technology demonstration to a test of its ability to assist the Perseverance rover in its quest to uncover evidence of ancient microbial life on Mars.

Ingenuity did this by using its downward-facing camera to explore the landscape inside Jezero Crater for areas of interest for the rover to investigate up close. Once a location of interest had been determined, aerial data from the helicopter could then be used to help the rover team plot the safest and most efficient route for wheel-based Perseverance to take to it.

Ingenuity’s mission was such a success that NASA engineers are set to build a larger, more advanced version of the machine for future missions to Mars and possibly beyond.

Shortly after news broke that Ingenuity had taken its last flight, JPL released a video highlighting the legacy of this extraordinary aircraft.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Tech News

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Space

NASA says goodbye to Mars helicopter Ingenuity after an incredible 72 flights

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter unlocked its rotor blades, allowing them to spin freely, on April 7, 2021, the 47th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.

It's a sad day for space fans, as the plucky little helicopter Ingenuity has finally come to the end of its mission on Mars. The helicopter will not be making anymore flights due to damage to one of its rotors that occurred during a recent landing, NASA said in an announcement on Thursday, January 25.

The mission was originally planned to make just five flights and to last 30 days, but has been successful beyond what anyone had imagined. The helicopter has made a total of 72 flights over the course of its three-year mission, which began when it was set down on the surface of Mars by the Perseverance rover. The rover arrived on Mars with the helicopter tucked up underneath its belly in February 2021, and Ingenuity sat on the surface for the first time in April 2021. It then made history by becoming the first rotorcraft to fly on another planet with its maiden flight.

Space

NASA regains communications with Mars helicopter Ingenuity

The Ingenuity helicopter is pictured on the surface of Mars.

Just a few days after losing contact with the Mars helicopter Ingenuity, NASA announced that it has regained communications with the plucky little helicopter. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which designed and operated the helicopter, announced that it is back in touch following an unexpected communications dropout.

The Ingenuity helicopter is pictured on the surface of Mars. NASA

Space

NASA has lost communication with the Ingenuity Mars helicopter

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter is seen here in a close-up taken by Mastcam-Z, a pair of zoomable cameras aboard the Perseverance rover. This image was taken on April 5, the 45th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.

The Mars helicopter Ingenuity has had a remarkable lifespan and has proven to be a greater success than anyone imagined. Originally designed to perform just five flights over the surface of Mars, the helicopter has now performed more than 70. However, NASA has now announced that it has lost contact with the helicopter, though it's unclear how serious this problem is.

The helicopter was performing its 72nd flight, which was an adjustment and correction to a previous flight that was cut short. Flight 71 was intended to be a journey of 1,175 feet (358 meters), but when the helicopter made this flight earlier in the month, it traveled just a third of that. The problem was related to its downward-facing camera, which uses surface indications for autonomous navigation. The helicopter was traveling over a particularly featureless expanse of the surface, and the lack of landmarks appeared to cause a problem with its navigation, forcing the flight to end early.