NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter has completed its final mission, the space agency announced today. The small helicopter, which had been operating on the Red Planet since February 2021, is no longer able to fly due to damage sustained in its most recent landing.
Photographs taken by the Perseverance rover show a jagged shadow, indicating that at least one of Ingenuity's rotors has been affected. It is believed that the rotor was damaged upon touchdown last week. The helicopter was originally designed to perform five experimental test flights within a 30-day period after the rover's arrival on Mars. However, it far exceeded expectations, completing a total of 72 flights over a span of nearly three years.
