NASA Rover Finds Damaged Helicopter in the Middle of Mars Desert
The Perseverance rover has made a poignant discovery on Mars, spotting the damaged Ingenuity helicopter grounded in a valley. The extraterrestrial chopper, which made history as the first craft to achieve powered, controlled flight on another planet, can no longer fly after a recent rough landing.
The imagery, processed and enhanced by geovisual designer Simeon Schmauß, highlights the desolation of Mars, a desert planet that has lost its insulating atmosphere and is 1,000 times drier than the driest desert on Earth.
Both the Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity helicopter had been involved in searching for evidence of past Martian life. However, with the helicopter now grounded, the car-sized rover will continue its exploration alone.
Ingenuity, prior to its recent accident, achieved an unprecedented 72 flights on Mars, surpassing initial expectations. It flew distances as far as 2,315 feet, overcoming the challenge of the thin Martian atmosphere, which has only about one percent of Earth’s volume.
However, a hard landing on Jan. 18 resulted in broken rotors, rendering the helicopter unable to generate the lift needed for flight. Images show Ingenuity’s ‘final resting place among the sand ripples in Neretva Vallis,’ as described by Schmauß.
This unfortunate turn of events has brought an end to Ingenuity’s remarkable journey, with the helicopter’s navigation software ultimately unable to prevent its demise on the smooth, sandy terrain of Mars.
