Final Flight: NASA Rover Laid to Rest

3 years ago, two robotic rovers were sent to mars under orders to collect data on the extra-terrestrial planet and report back their findings to earth. The couple consisted of a main machine bound to the ground which is able to take samples and test them to gather information and was aptly named ’Perseverance’ (which I am sure must be necessary when navigating a desolate planet. The other was dubbed ‘Ingenuity’. This incredible machine held the ability to take flight and scoured the skies of Mars, reporting back to perseverance on the rout and terrain ahead of it. The pair have been incredibly useful when it came to collecting information on our neighbouring planet, and incredible discoveries have been made during their years of service together. However, it has been announced that the landing of Ingenuity on the 18th of January of 2024, was its last. 

Ginny’s Journey

Almost three years ago, on the 18th of February 2021, Ingenuity was delivered to Mars on the underside of her counterpart Perseverance. Given the loving nickname ‘Ginny’ by researchers back home on Earth, many became attached to the hardy and resilient robot. Whilst only being built to complete five flights, the incredible machine flew for a total of 2 hours and 8 minutes and 48 seconds over her 1,004 days of service for NASA and taking 72 flights in total.

Ginny’s main role was the scout ahead of Perseverance in order to map the terrain ahead. This was a vital task as it meant that navigation was much more effective and less harm came to either droid. Originally the rover’s job was to simply demonstrate the possibility for flying rovers to work as an alternative method of data collection in the future and it’s first flight was a simple hover at 3m for 40 seconds. However, these numbers quickly increased and by her third lift off, Ginny was spending 90 seconds in the air along with travelling up to 50m from Perseverance. At this point, Ingenuity was transitioned from being a technology demonstration to being an operational rover on Mars. Now, the helicopter’s mission was as follows: Avoid interference of rover operations, maintain vehicle health and safety, perform scouting for tactical planning and science assessment, and perform experiments to inform mission and vehicle design for future Mars rotorcraft, or collect data for discretionary science. Jobs that she completed incredibly successfully over her three years of service.

Damage Done

The final flight of the beloved helicopter ‘ingenuity’ took place on the 18th of January 2024. On this day Ginny’s partner Perseverance lost contact with its counterpart and, while this had happened multiple times in the past, this time severe consequences were discovered. After a rough 72nd landing, it was seen in images of Ginny’s shadow that the tips of the rotor blades that allowed her to take flight had taken permanent damage. Much to the dismay of the team, this form of damage is not repairable from so far away as it could be all four tips that have become inept and this is something out of the skill areas of either rovers. The researchers working on the project believe that the damage was a result of an ‘autonomous navigation error’ that occurred in a mostly featureless area of the planet. It was an unfortunate matter of bad luck occurring in the wrong place. NASA administrator Bill Nelson released the statement that officially ended Ingenuity’s mission on the 25th of January. On a lighter note, the final resting place of ingenuity is at Airfield Chi(x) in an area which has been dubbed ‘Valinor Hills’ by the project team. The nickname was chosen as it is a second name for the Undying Lands which exist in J.R.R Tolkien’s bestseller Lord Of The Rings. The idea that, although no longer contributing to our research of the desolate planet, ingenuity continues to hold importance in our hearts (hence the ‘undying’) is something that may bring us happiness after this loss.

Future Exploration

While it is indeed the end of ingenuity’s journey over Mars, the data she has collected over the years will be essential in progressing further into the exploration of our neighbouring planet. This data is intended to support the development of future Mars helicopters that will be capable of carrying even larger scientific payloads. In fact, during the 2024 NIAC selections (in which NASA chooses new concepts and projects to work on over the coming year) the concept for a compact, fixed winged aircraft named Mars Aerial and Ground Global Intelligent Explorer (or MAGGIE for short) was selected as one of 13 new ideas. So, although Ingenuity’s tale of discovery and research has come to an end, her legacy will live on in the form of new and exciting methods of exploration.