NASA's Ingenuity Mars has set a record as the first powered helicopter on another world.
However, it was forced to end its 3-year mission to explore Mars early after an accident that damaged the wing and could not make any more flights after 72 takeoffs.
The Ingenuity helicopter's wing was so severely damaged that it was no longer able to take off.
The space agency NASA announced that the helicopter had ended its three-year mission to explore Mars because at least one of its wings was destroyed in an accident.
It will not be able to make any more flights since its last takeoff on January 18.
Ingenuity, which weighs 1.8kg, had an emergency landing on Mars during an exploration of the red planet's surface earlier this month.
Scientists think Ingenuity may have been damaged during its 69th flight when it entered sandy terrain on the surface of Mars.
However, the helicopter actually lost its ability to fly on its 72nd flight when its navigation systems were damaged, making it impossible to maintain orientation.
NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter officially ended its mission to explore Mars three years after it first took off on the red planet.
NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter paves the way for future flights on Mars
Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator, commented that Ingenuity has fulfilled its role as a pioneer for future flights on other worlds.
Ingenuity is living proof that humans can get to Mars more smartly and safely.
In addition, Bill also emphasized the record of the small helicopter.
Ingenuity has flown higher and farther than scientists ever predicted. It makes an important contribution to NASA's 'turning the impossible into possible'.
Laurie Leshin, director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory explains that regular helicopters cannot fly higher than 25,000 feet (7,600 meters) on Earth.
However, Ingenuity set a record by accumulating more than two hours and traveling a total of 18km on Mars.
Notably, the atmosphere on the Red Planet is many times thinner than Earth's, equivalent to our atmosphere at an altitude of 90,000 feet (27,000 meters).
The Ingenuity Mars helicopter's first visit to Mars
NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter was sent to Mars by the Perseverance rover in February 2021 to prove that helicopters can fly in the extremely thin atmosphere of Mars. At the same time, explore the surface of the Red Planet.
Initially, it was expected that Ingenuity could only perform a maximum of 5 flights.
However, Ingenuity surpassed human expectations by making 72 flights and even flew 14 times farther than estimated.
