NASA's Mars Helicopter is set in Tolkien's Undying Lands

The beloved Mars helicopter cleverness He took it The final journey In January, its mission will end after a historic three-year journey on Mars. the helicopter It was the first aircraft to fly on a planet other than Earth, and received numerous other accolades before suffering damage to its rotor that prevented future flights, resulting in the helicopter being grounded. NASA The Martian airfield that serves as Ingenuity's final resting place has been named “Valinor Hills”, after a location in the fictional Middle-Earth region, from Tolkien the Lord of the Rings Fantasy trilogy.

NASA was inspired by it Tolkien After the Perseverance vehicle Photographed Dexterity at the location where you last landed. Honestly, the site definitely Lord of the rings It feels, albeit closer to Mordor than Valinor.

Valinor forms part of the “Undying Lands” in the novels, but I'll let the gentle nerds learn about it space Explain what these represent in science JRR Tolkienthe famous World War I vet and Oxford University professor who happened to write Lord of the rings And its introduction, The hobbit. for every space:

Tolkien (1892-1973), an Anglo-Saxon scholar at Oxford University, best known for his fantasy works including The Lord of the Rings (LOTR), The Hobbit and The Silmarillion.

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Valinor was part of the Undying Lands, a location often cited in Tolkien's mythology. The most frequently mentioned reference to those islands comes at the end of LOTR. The elves have granted some key figures asylum there, after the invitees played key roles in a quest to destroy a powerful finger ring that threatens the universe.

The Isles of the Undying Lands were home to the Elves and also the Valar, the latter referring to the beings who played a role in the creation of the world, according to Paper 2009 In the peer-reviewed journal Mythlore, led by Keith Kelly of Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. Although not exactly equivalent to Judeo-Christian notions of heaven, according to Tolkien's letters mentioned in the paper, the Undying Lands are a point of refuge and eternal rest.

Tolkien also wrote The Silmarilliona collection of stories that serves as a loose introduction to the The hobbit And the Lord of the Rings. There are many works that add to the lore of Middle-earth as well. And now, thanks to NASA, Tolkien's influence is interplanetary, having reached the surface of Mars.

To add to the Tolkien theme behind NASA's inspired naming of the “Valinor Hills”, it would be appropriate to bid a final farewell to the Ingenuity helicopter with a song from Peter Jackson Lotter: The Return of the King (2003)the An expanded version Which features Howard Shore Song“Houses of Healing.”

according to genius The song contains annotations, and is a poem written in Sindarin, an Elven language (one of many) that Tolkien invented to enrich his novels. The song mentions not “adhering to the circles of the world” and is a reference to sailing In the west – To Valinor and the Undying Lands.

The Howard Shore song features the London Voices Choir and Liv Tyler, whose lyrics are a good send-off to Ingenuity: “And now the trees are turning from green to gold. And now the sun is fading. [We] he wishes [we] It can bring you closer.” Goodbye, genius. And good luck to Morocco.