The Last Flight of Ingenuity, the Martian Drone

Published on 26 January 2024

NASA has just announced the end of Ingenuity. The small Martian helicopter was damaged after its 72nd flight. It won't be able to take off again. It was therefore the last flight of this technological demonstrator which was initially only supposed to make five flights.

Ingenuity is finished. It was kind of the star of the Mars 2020 mission. To the point, sometimes, of stealing the spotlight from its big brother, the Perseverance rover, which served as its communications relay and which continues its mission to collect samples of Martian rocks. On January 25, 2024, NASA confirmed that the small Martian helicopter was no longer operational. “The historic journey of Ingenuity, the first machine to fly on another planet, has come to an end, ” commented Bill Nelson, NASA administrator. The teams in charge of Ingenuity shared their grief on social networks. It must be said that this little helicopter exceeded expectations. It was initially only expected to survive around thirty days and carry out five demonstration flights. It now opens the way to new exploration missions of the Solar System.

The 72nd and final flight of ingenuity

Fly on Mars

Ingenuity sets records

Perseverance's final goodbye

Create your selfie with Ingenuity

Who will replace Ingenuity?

After its 72nd flight on January 18, 2024, the Ingenuity helicopter captured this image which shows the shadow of one of its rotor blades, which was damaged during landing.

THE 72ND AND FINAL FLIGHT OF INGENUITY

THE FIRST TWO FLIGHTS OF 2024 DID NOT GO WELL AND SEALED THE END OF THE MARTIAN HELICOPTER’S MISSION

January 18. The Ingenuity team has scheduled a short vertical flight. Flight 71, January 6, did not go very well. The helicopter had to make an emergency landing. The JPL team wanted to determine precisely where it is. After reaching an altitude of twelve metres and gliding for four and a half minutes, Ingenuity began its descent. But one metre above the ground, Perseverance, which serves as a communications relay, lost contact with Ingenuity. It was only the next day, after re-establishing communications, that ground controllers were able to see the extent of the damage. The images show that a rotor blade was damaged, preventing any further flight.

Bill Nelson

NASA ADMINISTRATOR

«This remarkable helicopter flew higher and further than we ever imagined and helped NASA do what we do best: make the impossible, possible. Through missions like Ingenuity, NASA is paving the way for future flights in our Solar System and smarter, safer human exploration to Mars and beyond.»

FLY ON MARS

INGENUITY WAS THE FIRST HELICOPTER TO FLY ON ANOTHER PLANET

In May 2018, after several years of feasibility studies, NASA decided that the Mars 2020 mission would carry a small helicopter. The machine weighed 1.8kg. It was a technology demonstrator. The objective was to test the use of reconnaissance flights, to help Perseverance find the best access routes. Except that it is much more difficult to fly on Mars than on Earth. As explained by Cité de l’espace presenters, in the presentations The Rovers Take the Stage , and Labo Mars , the atmosphere of the red planet does not have the same density as that on Earth. Indeed, Martian atmospheric pressure is approximately 170 times lower than on Earth. This requires much larger blades. Ingenuity’s are 1m20, ten times the width of its body. These blades must also rotate much faster: 2400 to 2700 revolutions per minute. This is ten times more than a land helicopter.

The Ingenuity helicopter captured this view of sand ripples during its 70th flight on December 22, 2023.
© NASA/JPL-Caltech

The Ingenuity helicopter took this photo of its own shadow as it flew over the Martian surface on April 19, 2021, during its first flight.
© NASA/JPL-Caltech

INGENUITY SETS RECORDS

THE EXPERIMENTAL DRONE WENT WELL BEYOND EXPECTATIONS

On February 18, 2021, the Perseverance rover landed on Martian soil. Nearly a month later, it dropped off the Ingenuity drone, and moved away to avoid being hit if the helicopter failed. Then, after numerous tests, a first flight was successfully carried out on April 19, 2021 . It then continued to perform. As of November 2022, it had already carried out 51 flights , ten times more than the five flights initially imagined by the JPL teams . It also took thousands of photos.

Ultimately Ingenuity meant:

+ 128 minutes in flight
almost 18 km travelled
A maximum altitude reached of 24 m

Perseverance’s final goodbye

The rover took a last photo of its flying companion

Ingenuity appears unstable on a sand dune

On February 4, Perseverance took a last photo of the small Martian helicopter. The rover could not see Ingenuity when it was damaged. Perseverance therefore had to turn to take this portrait from afar. Rocks and vast dunes can be seen in the image. Ingenuity sits alone near the top of a dune, casting a shadow to the side.

Perseverance’s latest look at Ingenuity.
© NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

The photo is automatically cropped and you are invited to share your “selfie” on social networks with the hashtag #ThanksIngenuity

CREATE YOUR SELFIE WITH INGENUITY

JPL OFFERS NOSTALGIC PEOPLE TO CREATE THEIR PHOTO WITH THE SMALL MARTIAN HELICOPTER

To salute Ingenuity and its 72 flights, the Jet Propulsion Labroatory offers to pay tribute to it by sending your photo. It is then inserted into an Ingenuity image.
You can also send him a postcard to write him a little farewell message. The address is already entered: Ingenuity Mars Helicopter – 18.4° N, 77.5° E – Jezero Crater – Mars 040321.

WHO WILL REPLACE INGENUITY?

ITS SUCCESS ALLOWS APPLICATIONS TO BE CONSIDERED IN NEW MISSIONS

Ingenuity has ushered in a new era of Martian exploration, and now NASA is considering larger helicopters capable of carrying out scientific missions or transporting materials or samples. The
Mars Sample Return mission, which is to bring the samples taken by Perseverance back to Earth, requires two helicopters. Equipped with grippers, they could be used to help the lander recover the tubes where they were deposited.
The American Dragonfly mission will send a 450kg Titan aerobot to study the lower atmosphere of this Saturn moon and will also be inspired by the success of Ingenuity .

IT’S HAPPENING AT CITÉ DE L’ESPACE

MEET THE ROBOT EXPLORERS ON THE MOVE ON MARS

Come sit on a small corner of the red planet and meet, in their environment, four of the seven robot explorers which are, or have been, on the move on Mars. From the latest arrivals, a few months ago, to the pioneers of robotic exploration of Mars which arrived decades ago.

Life-Size Replicas of the Rovers

Two scientific presenters offer daily presentations during which you will see life-size replicas of the rovers Perseverance (American), Zhurong (Chinese), as well as Ingenuity, the first extra-terrestrial helicopter, moving around.