NASA clearly employs Tolkien fans.
The Martian helicopter Ingenuity, which arrived on the planet in 2021, suffered a minor crash and will no longer rise into the rarefied atmosphere of the planet. But on the map of Mars there was a reference to Middle-earth.
The team working with the Ingenuity helicopter decided to name the area that became its “last airfield.” A small valley in the Martian dunes was called Valinor Hills.
The area was named after Valinor from the books of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings: in Tolkien, Valinor is the place where the Valar, Maiar and elves live. You can take a look at the Martian Valinor in photographs distributed by NASA.
During the last flight, the Ingenuity helicopter lost orientation in space and made a hard landing. As a result, the helicopter’s rotor blades were damaged, disrupting the balance that allowed Ingenuity to remain airborne.
Although the Ingenuity mission has ended, the Perseverance rover, which arrived on Mars with a helicopter, continues to operate. Perhaps now he will have a little more difficult: with the help of Ingenuity, NASA specialists were scouting the road for Perseverance.
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