Postcards From Earth to NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter
| Credit | NASA/JPL-Caltech; images from Perseverance’s WATSON camera: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS; images from Perseverance’s Mastcam-Z: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS |
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| Historical Date | April 16, 2024 |
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Throughout its mission on the Red Planet, NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter received thousands of electronic postcards filled with well wishes from all over the world via the mission’s website. In this video, members of the Ingenuity team read messages expressing gratitude and appreciation for the helicopter and its accomplishments on Mars.
Ingenuity hitched a ride to Mars aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover, arriving on Feb. 18, 2021. On April 19, 2021, the helicopter made history when it completed the first powered, controlled flight on another planet. It flew for the last time on Jan. 18, 2024.
Designed to be a technology demonstration that would make no more than five experimental test flights over 30 days, the helicopter eventually completed 72 flights in just under three years, soaring higher and faster than the team ever imagined.
For more information on Ingenuity, go to: mars.nasa.gov/ingenuity
TRANSCRIPT
[Martin Cacan] You know, you never want to see it end.
[MUSIC]
THE INGENUITY MARS HELICOPTER FLEW FOR THE LAST TIME ON JANUARY 18, 2024
DURING ITS HISTORIC MISSION, PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD SENT IN DIGITAL POSTCARDS CELEBRATING INGENUITY AND ITS TEAM
INGENUITY’S TEAM MEMBERS REACTED TO THEM
[Vandi Verma] Oh my god!
[Farah Alibay] Ok. Into the camera?
[Brendan Chamberlain-Simon] I watched the first moon landing and felt privileged. And now I get to see a helicopter scanning Mars’ landscape. Thank you, Ingenuity and team.
[Vandi Verma] I…that’s such a wonderful thought.
[Taryn Bailey] Ingenuity, you danced in Martian skies, a testament to human brilliance. Your legacy inspires us. Farewell, dear friend.
[Farah Alibay] Aww.
[Taryn Bailey] It’s a very beautiful sentiment and, as a dancer myself, I couldn’t have said it any more perfectly.
[Flynn Platt] Anything is possible when a group of dedicated people work together. Very true.
[Nacer Chahat] Congratulations on a successful mission and for making history.
[Brendan Chamberlain-Simon] I have tremendous gratitude to be a part of that.
[Flynn Platt] That’s really sweet. It’s tapped into many people’s imaginations. It’s inspired all of us.
[Nacer Chahat] That’s gonna be the legacy of Ingenuity.
#THANKSINGENUITY
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