Mars Helicopter Team Witnesses Final Downlink

Engineers working on NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter gathered together in a control room for one last time to monitor a transmission from the history-making helicopter at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on April 16, 2024. The transmission confirmed the operation of a software patch that will allow Ingenuity to act as a stationary testbed and collect data that could benefit future explorers of the Red Planet.

Originally designed as short-lived technology demonstration mission that would perform up to five experimental test flights over 30 days, the first aircraft on another world operated from the Martian surface for almost three years, flew more than 14 times farther than planned, and logged more than two hours of total flight time. Its 72nd and final flight was Jan. 18, 2024.

The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was built by JPL, which also manages the project for NASA Headquarters. It is supported by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, provided significant flight performance analysis and technical assistance during Ingenuity’s development. AeroVironment Inc., Qualcomm, and SolAero also provided design assistance and major vehicle components. Lockheed Space designed and manufactured the Mars Helicopter Delivery System. At NASA Headquarters, Dave Lavery is the program executive for the Ingenuity Mars helicopter.