After more than three years on Mars, the mini helicopter ‘Ingenuity’ has sent its last message to Earth. After a “long farewell” to the surprisingly durable device, the last data set was received at the control center on Tuesday, NASA announced.
However, “Ingenuity” will remain on Mars and continue collecting data “that could benefit future explorers of the Red Planet,” the US space agency said. NASA described the future daily routine of the mini-helicopter, which resembles a drone, this way: “It will wake up daily, activate its flight computers and test the performance of its solar cells, batteries and electronics.” photograph the surface every day and collect temperature data.
Look for signs of possible life
The helicopter, which resembles a drone, landed on the Red Planet together with the rover ‘Perseverance’ in February 2021, supporting it as ‘aerial reconnaissance’ in the search for signs of possible life on Mars. In April 2021, ‘Ingenuity’ completed its maiden flight – a first in the history of space travel.
At the start of the mission, the aim of the helicopter, which weighs just 1.8 kilograms, was to perform five flights on Mars within 30 days. Ultimately, 72 flights took place in almost three years. In January, NASA reported that the plane had suffered damage to “one or more” rotor blades and was no longer able to fly.
Braved storms, treacherous terrain and freezing temperatures
Overall, the small plane’s service life exceeded all expectations. It braved dust storms, treacherous terrain, a dead sensor and the extremely freezing temperatures of Mars. The solar heating system, designed to operate in the spring, could not stay on all night in the winter, causing the flight computer to freeze. However, the engineers managed to develop new procedures.
Source: Krone
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