Damaged Mars helicopter 'has taken its last flight' – NASA

NASA said on Thursday (January 25) that its miniature robot helicopter Ingenuity, which in 2021 became the first aircraft to achieve powered flight on another planet, can no longer fly, ending a mission on Mars that lasted far longer than originally planned.

/”It is bittersweet that I must announce that Ingenuity, the ‘little helicopter that could’ – and it kept saying, ‘I think I can, I think I can’ – well, it has now taken its last flight on Mars,/” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a video posted on social media.

The U.S. space agency said Ingenuity made an /”emergency landing/” during its second-to-last flight. During its last flight, the craft on Jan. 18 lost contact with Perseverance, the rover from which Ingenuity deployed in 2021, when it was flying about 3 feet (1 meter) above the ground while descending to land, NASA added.

Following Ingenuity’s debut flight in April 2021 – buzzing above the surface of Mars for 39 seconds – NASA officials hailed the achievement by the 4-pound (1.8-kg) solar-powered aircraft as one that would help pave the way for a new mode of aerial exploration on the Red Planet and other destinations in the solar system, such as Venus and Saturn’s moon Titan.

The helicopter’s success in early demonstration flights earned it a more productive role on Mars, helping scout location targets for Perseverance with its tiny onboard camera. The craft survived almost 1,000 Martian days, NASA said, which included the planet’s frigid winter seasons.

(Production: Ashraf Fahim)

Subscribe to the ABS-CBN News channel! – http://bit.ly/TheABSCBNNews

Watch full episodes on iWantTFC for FREE here:
http://iwanttfc.com

Visit our website at http://news.abs-cbn.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abscbnNEWS
Twitter: https://twitter.com/abscbnnews
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abscbnnews