JPL Team Honored for Historic Accomplishments of Ingenuity Mars Helicopter

The scientists and engineers behind Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which in April became the first powered aircraft to take flight on another world, will be honored with the Space Foundation’s John L. “Jack” Swigert Jr. Award for Space Exploration for their innovation and historic achievements, JPL announced Wednesday.

The 4-pound autonomous helicopter took to the air on Mars on April 19 after hitching a ride to the Red Planet affixed to the bottom of JPL’s Perseverance Mars Rover.

It has since completed seven flights. While initially tasked with simply proving such a flight was possible in the thin Martian atmosphere, which is about 1% as dense as Earth’s, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has transitioned to a mission of exploration, officials said.

“The annual award recognizes extraordinary accomplishments by a company, space agency, or consortium of organizations in the realm of space exploration and discovery. It honors the memory of astronaut John L. ‘Jack’ Swigert, Jr., the command module pilot for the Apollo 13 mission,” JPL said in a written statement. 

A portion of a flight of Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter on May 22, 2021, was captured in this sequence of images provided by NASA and JPL.

“During Apollo 13’s April 1970 voyage to the Moon, an oxygen tank ruptured, placing the crew in peril,” the statement continued. “It was a time of high drama and high anxiety as people around the globe watched NASA work against the clock and against the odds to return the crew safely to Earth.”

The Space Foundation, which champions “advocating for innovation” and “bettering life on Earth,” plans to formally present the award to the Ingenuity team during the 36th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, JPL said.

More information on the Space Foundation and the Swigert Award is available online at spacefoundation.org/what-we-do/awards.

Related:

‘This Really Is a Wright Brothers Moment’: JPL Makes History With Successful Flight of Ingenuity Mars Helicopter

JPL Team Prepares to Make History With First Helicopter Flight on Another World