VOA科学技术2024--NASA's Mars Helicopter Ends Service after 'History-making' Mission

NASA's Mars Helicopter Ends Service after 'History-making' Mission

　　NASA's experimental helicopter, Ingenuity¹, has officially ended its service on Mars after what the U.S. space agency called a "history-making" mission.

　　Ingenuity arrived on Mars with NASA's Perseverance² explorer, or rover, in February 2021. The experimental helicopter has completed many test flights on the Red Planet to support NASA's efforts to build new aircraft that can fly in the atmospheres of other planets.

　　Ingenuity became the first aircraft to complete a powered, controlled flight on another planet in April 2021.

　　At first, NASA described Ingenuity as a demonstration³ mission that was expected to last about one month. The aircraft aimed to test flight on Mars, including taking off, flying short distances and landing. The helicopter quickly demonstrated its abilities during a series of tests.

　　In May 2021, NASA officially extended Ingenuity's experimental mission. In total, the helicopter performed 72 flights on Mars, the space agency said. The aircraft flew 14 times farther than planned and completed more than two hours of total flight time.

　　NASA Administrator⁴ Bill Nelson praised Ingenuity as "the little helicopter that could." He noted⁵ that officials were surprised with each new flight progression.

　　But Nelson noted that because of damage to a rotor, the helicopter had finally taken its last flight. "The historic journey of Ingenuity, the first aircraft on another planet, has come to (an) end," he said.

　　Nelson added that mission controllers discovered during an attempt by Ingenuity to land that at least one of the aircraft's rotor blades had been damaged. The damage is currently being investigated, but the NASA chief said the blade might have struck the ground during the landing attempt.

　　NASA said Ingenuity rose to 12 meters on its final flight last week, staying in the air for a few seconds before heading back down. Most flights only last a few minutes because the helicopter has energy and temperature limitations.

　　Nelson said the helicopter was able to fly effectively in the thin Martian atmosphere. But he noted that additional progress showed the aircraft "far exceeded what we thought possible."

　　Ingenuity's mission, Nelson, said, had opened the door to "future flight in our solar system and smarter, safer human exploration to Mars and beyond."

　　After Ingenuity performed well in flight tests, NASA decided⁶ to expand the helicopter's mission to assist Perseverance with its rover operations. This change officially turned the aircraft's mission into an "operations demonstration."

　　NASA reports Ingenuity helped to identify additional exploration areas for Perseverance. Both the rover and helicopter have been collecting data and images while exploring an area known as Jezero Crater⁷. The goal is to search for signs of ancient life on Mars.

　　NASA noted that Ingenuity had helped map a path from above to help Perseverance take on new exploration activities. Flight controllers on the ground have been collecting data on all of Ingenuity's operations. They said this data will be valuable in helping⁸ NASA design future aircraft for Mars.

　　The success of the helicopter mission led the space agency in 2022 to approve the development of two small helicopters to be deployed⁹ on future missions.

　　While Ingenuity continued its operational mission, teams on the ground experimented with new rotor blades. During ground tests completed last year, engineers reported the rotor blades had reached speeds nearly equal to Mach 1, the speed of sound.

　　The blades tested on Earth are made of carbon. They are more than 10 centimeters longer than Ingenuity's and are designed to be stronger and to move faster. NASA has said the rotor blades are designed to support bigger, more complex helicopters.

　　Words in This Story

　　mission – n. the flight of a spacecraft to perform a certain task or job

　　rotor blade – n. thin, flat pieces of material that spin to make aircraft lift off the ground and travel

　　journey – n. the act of traveling from one place to another

　　exceed – v. to go over a particular number or amount

1 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。

2 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

3 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

4 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。