After almost three years on Mars, the Ingenuity helicopter mission is coming to an end After Three Years on Mars, NASA’s Ingenuity Helicopter Mission Ends / NASA . NASA has proven that powered controlled flight is possible on other worlds, just as the Wright brothers proved that it is possible on Earth.
Ingenuity rose above the Martian surface 72 times, although initially the engineers counted on only a few demonstration flights. The device exceeded all expectations, flying a distance of 14 times more than planned.
For the first time, Ingenuity rose over the Red Planet on April 19, 2021, and on January 18, 2024, the last flight took place - it ended with a hard landing, which led to fatal damage to one or more rotor blades.
And although the helicopter now remains in an upright position and maintains contact with ground controllers, the device will no longer be able to take off.
The historic journey of Ingenuity, the first helicopter on another planet, has come to an end. This wonderful helicopter flew higher and farther than we could ever have imagined, and helped NASA do what we do best – make the impossible possible. Through missions such as Ingenuity, NASA is paving the way for future missions in our Solar System and smarter and safer human exploration on Mars and beyond.
In a touching video, the Ingenuity mission team thanked the helicopter for all its achievements and said goodbye to it.
