NASA's Ingenuity helicopter to become Martian weather station after crash

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, initially designed to test powered flight on the Red Planet, has taken on a new role as a weather station after sustaining damage during its 72nd flight.

The crash, which occurred on January 18, 2024, left the helicopter unable to fly, but its onboard systems remain functional, enabling it to continue contributing valuable scientific data. The update was shared at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in Washington, D.C.

Teddy Tzanetos, project manager for Ingenuity at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), confirmed that while the helicopter's rotor system was compromised, its avionics, batteries, and sensors are still operational. "She still has one final gift," Tzanetos remarked, highlighting the helicopter’s ability to serve as a weather station by recording telemetry and capturing images daily.

The crash was attributed to navigation challenges caused by the uniform terrain, which provided insufficient data for the helicopter’s safe landing systems. Håvard Grip, Ingenuity’s first pilot, described the difficulty of analyzing the incident from Earth, noting the vast 160-million-kilometer distance to the crash site.

Despite the end of its flying missions, Ingenuity is expected to collect and store weather data on Mars for up to 20 years. However, its ability to transmit data depends on the Perseverance rover, which serves as its communication relay and is currently 3 kilometers away. Scientists caution that permanent loss of contact with Ingenuity could occur within a month unless conditions change.

NASA is already working on designs for a next-generation Mars helicopter. Plans include a six-rotor aircraft equipped with advanced scientific instruments, capable of autonomous exploration over greater distances on the Martian surface.