NASA Mourns Broken Wings of 'The Little Helo That Could'

The surprisingly long-lived Mars Helicopter has finished its mission after incurring damage to its rotors during its final landing.

The program was wildly successful, going far beyond the lifespan expected of the flyweight aircraft. Ingenuity was originally assigned to only 5 test flights over the first 30 days of its tenure on Mars, but ultimately it spent 3 years there as it flew 72 missions. Overall, Ingenuity flew more than 14 times farther than ever expected, logging more than 2 full hours of flight time. It's a respectable end to a scrappy little aircraft that flight 72 broke its wings for good.

“The historic journey of Ingenuity, the first aircraft on another planet, has come to end,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “That remarkable helicopter flew higher and farther than we ever imagined and helped NASA do what we do best – make the impossible, possible. Through missions like Ingenuity, NASA is paving the way for future flight in our solar system and smarter, safer human exploration to Mars and beyond.”

FMI: www.nasa.gov