NASA's Ingenuity helicopter has damaged a blade and will no longer take off over Mars. It made 72 flights in three years

After three years of service, NASA's helicopter Ingenuity made its final flight on Mars. During its 72nd flight, Ingenuity stopped communicating with the Perseverance rover. Later, NASA regained contact with the helicopter and found that at least one of Ingenuity's carbon-fiber blades was damaged during the landing on January 18th. The helicopter stands upright and is still in communication with ground controllers, but is no longer able to fly.

Ingenuity significantly exceeded its planned operational period. NASA had prepared the helicopter for up to five test flights within 30 days. However, it remained in operation for over three years. Ingenuity flew 14 times farther than originally planned, with a total flight time of over two hours.

The historic journey of Ingenuity, the first aircraft on another planet, has come to an end. This remarkable helicopter flew higher and farther than we could have imagined, and helped NASA make the impossible possible, doing what we do best. Thanks to missions like Ingenuity, NASA is paving the way for future flights in the solar system and for more thoughtful and safer Mars exploration and beyond.

— statement by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

On January 18th, the Ingenuity team planned a short vertical flight to determine the helicopter's location after it had to make an emergency landing during its previous flight. The helicopter ascended to a height of 12 meters and hovered for 4.5 seconds, then began to descend at a speed of 1 meter per second. However, it lost communication with Perseverance when it was about a meter above the surface.

It is unclear how the rotor blade was damaged. NASA is investigating whether it hit the surface. Perseverance is too far away to inspect Ingenuity. The helicopter's own camera captured the damage on the shadow of the rotor blade.

The resilient helicopter survived 3 years in a harsh environment, a non-working sensor, dust storms (after which it was able to clean itself), and a winter on Mars. The Ingenuity team will end the helicopter's operation after conducting final tests and downloading the last data and images from its memory.