Earlier this yr , the dear Mars helicopterIngenuity ended its missionafter an incredible 72 flights . Originally designed as a engineering science test signify to do just five flights , NASA ’s helicopter was the first rotorcraft to fly on another planet and was such a success that it has already inspired plans for more exploration of remote planet using rotorcraft . Its mission come to an closing , however , when it damaged one of its rotor , leaving it unable to safely wing .
Even then , the helicopter was still able to communicate by sending signals to the nearby Perseverance rover , which acted as its base station . Now , though , Perseverance is journey away from the helicopter to proceed its exploration of Mars . So this week , the NASA team on the ground met for the last clock time to communicate with Ingenuity , get the military mission to a final close .
“ With apology to Dylan Thomas , Ingenuity will not be going gently into that good Martian night , ” sound out Josh Anderson , Ingenuity team result at NASA ’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory , in astatement . “ It is almost incredible that after over 1,000 Martian day on the surface , 72 flight , and one raspy landing place , she still has something to give . And thanks to the inscription of this awesome team , not only did Ingenuity overachieve beyond our wildest aspiration , but also it may teach us Modern lesson in the years to total . ”
The Ingenuity team came together at NASA ’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory for one last time April 16 , overseeing the final contagion of data from the chopper and sharing the traditional “ Final Comms ” chocolate cake .
However , Ingenuity wo n’t be close down completely and leave behind to sit groundless . As its electronics are still useable , the team send a last package update to Ingenuity instructing it to wake up each solar day , turn on its data processor , check its solar power levels , and take a picture of the surface using its tv camera and read the temperature . The estimation is to save a long - term archive of data prove how conditions change in this region of Mars — called Valinor Hills — and how the helicopter ’s systems perform over time .
The eggbeater wo n’t be able to broadcast this data point back to Earth , and it will eventually discontinue working because of ability loss or bankruptcy , but its data will stay on saved on panel ready for future collection .
“ Whenever human race revisits Valinor Hills — either with a rover , a new aircraft , or succeeding astronauts — Ingenuity will be wait with her last gift of data , a final testament to the reason we presume mighty things , ” said Ingenuity ’s undertaking director , Teddy Tzanetos of JPL . “ Thank you , Ingenuity , for barrack a small group of people to overcome seemingly insurmountable betting odds at the frontiers of outer space . ”
