NASA’s little helicopter on Mars has logged its last flight

NASA’s little Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, has flown its last flight.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s little Mars helicopter has flown its last flight.

The space agency announced Thursday that the 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) chopper named Ingenuity can no longer fly because of rotor blade damage. While it remains upright and in contact with flight controllers, its $85 million mission is officially over, officials said.

After its 72nd flight on Jan. 18, NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter captured this color image showing the shadow of one of its rotor blades, which was damaged during touchdown. NASA / JPL-CaltechOriginally intended as a short-term tech demo, Ingenuity logged 72 flights over three years at Mars. It accumulated more than two hours of flight time, traveling 11 miles (18 kilometers). That’s more than 14 times farther than planned, according to NASA. It soared as high as 79 feet (24 meters) and hit speeds of up to 22.4 mph (36 kph).

“That remarkable helicopter flew higher and farther than we ever imagined,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement.

Ingenuity hitched a ride on NASA’s Perseverance rover, landing on Mars in 2021. It ended up serving as a scout for the rover and proved powered flight was possible in the thin Martian atmosphere.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/nasas-little-helicopter-mars-logged-last-flight-rcna135757

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