NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter completed 72 flights on Mars.
Ingenuity was originally designed to attempt only five flights, but its first successful flight in April 2021 led NASA to extend the mission. The helicopter eventually became an aerial scout for the Perseverance rover, photographing terrain and helping mission planners choose routes and scientific targets.
Its 72nd and final flight took place on January 18, 2024, at Jezero Crater. NASA later determined that one or more rotor blades had been damaged during the flight, leaving Ingenuity unable to fly again. The helicopter remained in communication with Perseverance for a short period afterward while serving as a stationary test platform.
The total is sometimes confused with the original five-flight technology demonstration. Ingenuity’s mission greatly exceeded that goal, operating for nearly three years and demonstrating repeated powered flight in Mars’s thin atmosphere.