Mars helicopter sends final message, but will keep collecting data

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter concluded its mission on Tuesday, sending a final signal in its role as a companion to the Perseverance Rover. The copter's last message named those who worked on the mission (a list was uploaded in advance) and also confirmed that a recent software patch installed successfully. The patch …

[Michael Hoffmann]

Is an article about a piece of hardware sent to Mars by some engineers and rocket scientists supposed make me feel this choked up?

May your recovery still happen in my lifetime, unlikely as it it, little fellow!

[Anonymous Custard]

It's just a little piece of Martian dust in your eye. A bit like what seems to be in mine as well...

I hope to see that final set of images too sometime. This whole mission has been a superb success all round.

[Liam Proven]

https://xkcd.com/695/

[Patrician]

Have you watched "Good Night Oppy"? So much dust got in my eyes whatching that....

[Michael Hoffmann]

You bet. Wife and I were blubbering like babies.

[UCAP]

Congratulations on a widely over successful mission, Ingenuity has proved all of its nay-sayers wrong and provided a template for the future exploration of Mars and beyond.

Glass respectively raised to you - - >

[sarusa]

Just keeps on going...

So after an amazing run as the first controlled flyer on another world and exceeding its specced missions by 2300%... It's now enjoying its retirement as a pensioner / weather station. Godspeed, little dude!

(So happy to not need to use the Spawn of Satan icon for once!)

[Darkk]

Cool to see NASA is able to repurpose this aircraft to be a weather station. Makes me wonder how long will it last before the solar panels are completely covered in dust? It was relying on flights to dust them off.

One of the reasons why recent probes now use nuclear battery for power.

Either way hats off to the little guy!

[Fred Daggy]

Fry's dog

On the other hand, waking up and taking a photo forever, hoping someone comes and collects it. I'm thinking of Seymour.

[The Oncoming Scorn]

Re: Fry's dog

Damn you - It's fortunate I have had a sty in my eye all week to excuse my tear ducts overworking.

[the spectacularly refined chap]

One of the reasons why recent probes now use nuclear battery for power.

The perennial "use an RTG for everything" argument. What it is actually advocating is that less science is done.

RTGs are incredibly expensive, adding at least $100m to a mission, and also in short supply as there is only so much of the suitable isotopes around. Curiosity and Perseverance use them because of the sheer size of the rovers and consequent power requirements, rather than any inherent dissatisfaction with photovoltaics.

[Sam not the Viking]

Perseverance

It's great to see technology used to achieve spectacular results rather than mining obscure speculative tokens. Focused power usage rather than gigantic consumption for AI data regurgitation.

Imagination and ingenuity (pun intended) at its finest.

[KarMann]

Obligatory XKCD

Do I get to come home? Guys?

Stupid Martian dust in my eyes.

[Aladdin Sane]

Mars helicopter sends final message

ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS – EXCEPT EUROPA. ATTEMPT NO LANDING THERE.

[Annihilator]

Re: Mars helicopter sends final message

My God... it's full of stars

[Azamino]

"Ingenuity's rotors were damaged by an unknown event."

First signs of locals resisting the gentrification of their planet?

[Caver_Dave]

Re: "Ingenuity's rotors were damaged by an unknown event."

Did you not see the little green sucker prints in the photos?

[jake]

Re: "Ingenuity's rotors were damaged by an unknown event."

Occam suggests the speed run and the altitude record over-stressed things.

[Red Ted]

In many years time....

Perseverance, on it's unpteenth life-extension, but now missing a fair number of bits in its memory, wandering absentmindedly about Valinor Hills muttering "I am sure I left it here somewhere.."

[The commentard formerly known as Mister_C]

Add it to the mission

Sample retrieval plus downloading the weather reports. All by 2040 please.

[frothyman]

Ingenuity's lost blade

Took me a while to find this fascinating interview again. All about Ingenuity and Perseverence and the engineering behind Ingenuity. It is about 2 hours long but the part about how the rotor blade was probably damaged is at the 1:19 mark.

https://www.youtube.com/live/t4XpLZqc6ao?feature=shared