2024-01-31 02:32:23
In an emotional announcement, NASA director Bill Nelson revealed the end of the Ingenuity missionthe historic helicopter that, defying all expectations, carried out almost three years of exploration on Mars. “I have to announce that Ingenuity, the little helicopter that might, and it kept saying: ‘I think I can, I think I can‘, is now taking its last flight on Mars,” said Nelson.
Ingenuity, which arrived at the “Red Planet” andIn February 2021 with the Perseverance roverits main mission was to demonstrate its ability flight in the thin Martian atmosphere. After an unexpected damage to one of its blades, the tiny aircraft says goodbye following more than fulfilling its mission.
Although designed Originally to perform five experimental flights over 30 days, Ingenuity exceeded all expectations. It made 72 takeoffs, traveled 17 kilometers and reached heights of up to 24 meters. “That little helicopter might fly in a one percent atmosphere, not a 100 percent atmosphere like we have on Earth,” Nelson noted.
with a weight just 1.8 kilograms and the size of a tissue boxIngenuity faced various challenges, from dealing with a dead sensor to surviving a frigid Martian winter and executing emergency landings.
The farewell to Ingenuity leaves a legacy of valuable lessons learned and ushers in a new era of space exploration. “With a new space exploration area unlocked, future prototypes are in development“announced Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity Project Director at JPL. The objective is to increase research capacity in completely unknown placescomplementing the work of the rovers to obtain more detailed and complete information regarding the cosmos.
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