NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter commanded our attention when it captured 'otherworldly' photos of a curious wreckage on the planet's surface.
The 1.8kg helicopter made history when it became the first aircraft to achieve powered, controlled flight on another planet.
Strapped to NASA's Perseverance rover, Ingenuity - nicknamed Ginny - traveled some 293 million miles across 203 days to touchdown on Mars on February 18, 2021.
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The following year, it took incredible photos of debris from the planet while exploring the Jezero Crater, although its mission was cut short in January 2024 when the helicopter dramatically crashed during its 72nd flight.
The tiny helicopter was only ever meant to make five test flights in 30 days, so smashed expectations with its three-year Mars adventure.
What did Ingenuity capture?
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It might look like a scene straight out of a sci-fi, but Ingenuity's photos sadly aren't proof of alien life.
Photos taken by the helicopter showed debris strewn across the ground, with Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Ian Clark telling The New York Times: “It exudes otherworldly, doesn't it? They say a picture's worth 1,000 words, but it's also worth an infinite amount of engineering understanding.”
What's actually pictured is the landing equipment from when the Perseverance Rover and Ingenuity arrived on Mars in 2021.
The photo shows the spacecraft's upright backshell and the debris field that resulted from it, impacting the surface at about 78 mph (126 kph).
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NASA explained exactly what we're looking at: “The backshell’s protective coating appears to have remained intact during Mars atmospheric entry.
"Many of the 80 high-strength suspension lines connecting the backshell to the parachute are visible and also appear intact."
And while the photos are fascinating to see, they're also being used to inform future Mars missions.
How did Ingenuity crash?
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Ingenuity crash landed during its 72nd flight on January 18, 2024 - and scientists have partly blamed Mars' blandness for the accident. Ouch.
Around 20 seconds after takeoff, the helicopter's navigation system failed to detect enough features on the planet's surface to track its whereabouts.
These errors created 'high horizontal velocities at touchdown,' as Nasa explained: "In the most likely scenario, the hard impact on the sand ripple’s slope caused Ingenuity to pitch and roll.
"The rapid attitude change resulted in loads on the fast-rotating rotor blades beyond their design limits, snapping all four of them off at their weakest point, about a third of the way from the tip.
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"The damaged blades caused excessive vibration in the rotor system, ripping the remainder of one blade from its root and generating an excessive power demand that resulted in loss of communications."
What will Ingenuity be used for now?
Despite being stranded, scientists later confirmed Ingenuity's health system is 'green across the board,' with its 'avionics, battery [and] sensors' all still functional.
This means the helicopter's job isn't done yet; its technology can still be used to gather important information about Mars.
It's now being used as a weather station, beaming information to the Perseverance rover once a week.
Avionics test data - essential for identifying potential flaws with electronics sent into deep space - is also being collected from Ingenuity.
NASA said this information is 'already proving useful to engineers working on future designs of aircraft and other vehicles for the Red Planet'.
This includes the Mars Sample Return Lander mission, due to begin in 2026.
Topics: NASA, Space, Mars, Earth, Technology
Ellie Kemp