iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
It will pass over Saudi Arabia during its descent
KT APPDOWNLOAD
Nasa's little helicopter on Mars has logged its last flight
Ingenuity logged 72 flights over three years, accumulating more than two hours of flight time, travelling 18km — more than 14 times farther than planned
Photo: AP
Nasa’s little Mars helicopter has flown its last flight.
The space agency announced on Thursday that the 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) chopper named Ingenuity can no longer fly because of rotor blade damage. While it remains upright and in contact with flight controllers, its $85 million mission is officially over, officials said.
Originally intended as a short-term tech demo, Ingenuity logged 72 flights over three years at Mars. It accumulated more than two hours of flight time, travelling 18km. That's more than 14 times farther than planned, according to Nasa. It soared as high as 79 feet (24 metres) and hit speeds of up to 36kmph.
"While we knew this day was inevitable, it doesn’t make it any easier” to announce the end of the mission, said Nasa's Lori Glaze. “It’s almost an understatement to say that it has surpassed expectations.”
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
Ingenuity hitched a ride on Nasa’s Perseverance rover, landing on Mars in 2021. It ended up serving as a scout for the rover and proved powered flight was possible in the thin Martian atmosphere.
Images beamed back this week from its last flight showed that one or more of its rotor blades suffered damage while landing and may have hit the surface. The blades are no longer usable, according to Nasa.
The helicopter ascended to 40 feet (12 metres) on its final flight last week, hovering for a few seconds before descending. It mysteriously lost contact with the nearby rover — its communication relay — while still 3 feet (1 metre) off the ground. Once communication was restored, the damage was confirmed. The reason for the loss of communication is under investigation.
Ingenuity's success prompted Nasa in 2022 to add two mini helicopters to a future Mars mission.
ALSO READ:
More news from Space
The base, called Mars Dune Alpha, is designed to simulate the challenges that will be faced by the first people on the actual planet
Out of a pool of 4,305 applicants, Nora AlMatrooshi and Mohammad AlMulla were selected to undergo training at Nasa
It includes 180 days of research work across four phases with Emirati crew commencing participation in Phase 2
As part of the mission, UAE's space engineers will build a 10-tonne 'Crew and Science' airlock, the entry and exit point for astronauts on the Gateway
The agency's engineers are attempting to re-establish communications with Ingenuity
The rendezvous came about 37 hours after the Axiom quartet's Thursday evening lift-off in a rocketship from Nasa's Kennedy Space Centre
The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon makes Japan the fifth nation to achieve a soft landing
