NASA engineers are investigating the fatal crash of its record-breaking helicopter, Ingenuity, which broke apart during a flight on Mars in January 2024. The helicopter had flown above the Martian surface for three years, performing 72 flights and exceeding expectations.
Ingenuity was designed as a technology demonstrator to showcase powered, controlled flights on other planets. After five test flights, it became a scout for the Perseverance rover, exploring the Jezero Crater environment. The helicopter’s final flight ended with a crash landing, with the rotor blades snapping due to high horizontal velocities at touchdown.
Despite its demise, Ingenuity continues to provide weather and avionics data to Perseverance on a weekly basis. NASA engineers are using the helicopter’s affordable design and surprising durability as a blueprint for future Mars helicopters that could weigh 20 times more than Ingenuity and fly up to two miles in a day.
The investigation reveals that in-flight navigation errors likely caused the crash, with the team citing lack of surface texture information as a contributing factor. The incident marked a significant milestone in the development of powered aircraft for space exploration, setting the stage for future drones to provide unprecedented views of our solar system.
Source: https://gizmodo.com/the-first-helicopter-crash-on-mars-nasa-pinpoints-what-went-wrong-during-ingenuitys-final-flight-2000537270