The Legacy of NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter | NASA/JPL
On April 19, 2021, NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter made history when it completed the first powered, controlled flight on the Red Planet. It flew for the last time on January 18, 2024.
Designed to be a technology demonstration that would make no more than five test flights in 30 days, the helicopter eventually completed 72 flights in just under 3 years, soaring higher and faster than previously imagined. Ingenuity embarked on a new mission as an operations demonstration, serving as an aerial scout for scientists and rover planners, and for engineers ready to learn more about Perseverance’s landing gear debris.
In its final phase, the helicopter entered a new engineering demonstration phase where it executed experimental flight tests that further expanded the team’s knowledge of the vehicle’s aerodynamic limits.
For more information on Ingenuity, go to: mars.nasa.gov/ingenuity
NASA invites the public to celebrate Ingenuity’s legacy by sharing messages on social media with the hashtag #ThanksIngenuity.
Ingenuity's flights repeatedly proved its ability to fly in the extremely thin atmosphere of Mars, over a hundred million miles from Earth, without direct human control. Because radio signals take between 5–20 minutes to travel between Earth and Mars—depending on planetary positions—Ingenuity had to operate autonomously, performing maneuvers planned, scripted and transmitted to it by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was built by JPL, and it also managed this technology demonstration project for NASA Headquarters. It was supported by NASA’s Science, Aeronautics, and Space Technology mission directorates. NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, provided significant flight performance analysis and technical assistance during Ingenuity’s development. AeroVironment Inc., Qualcomm, and SolAero also provided design assistance and major vehicle components. Lockheed Martin Space designed and manufactured the Mars Helicopter Delivery System.
Ingenuity's rotors measure 1.2 m (4 ft), and its entire body is 0.49 m (1 ft 7 in) tall. Its fuselage measures 13.6 cm × 19.5 cm × 16.3 cm (5.4 in × 7.7 in × 6.4 in), with four landing legs of 0.384 m (1 ft 3.1 in) each. It is operated by solar-charged batteries that power dual counter-rotating rotors mounted one above the other.
The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.
Mission Name: Mars 2020
Rover Name: Perseverance
Main Job: Seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for possible return to Earth.
Launch: July 30, 2020
Landing: Feb. 18, 2021, Jezero Crater, Mars
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech; WATSON images: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS; Mastcam-Z images: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS
Duration: 2 minutes, 16 seconds
Release Date: Jan. 25, 2024
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