NASA's Ingenuity copter ends successful Mars mission

Washington: NASA's Ingenuity helicopter has finished its mission and stopped operation on Mars' surface, the US space agency informed. Ingenuity, the first vehicle to be powered by controlled flight in another world, ended its mission exceeding all expectations, Reuters reported.

The helicopter lost a portion of one of the miniature whirligig's twin rotor blades after its 72nd flight on January 18, and it could not be used for further operations, NASA said.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a video post on social media, "It is bittersweet that I must announce that Ingenuity, the 'little helicopter that could' - and it kept saying, 'I think I can, I think I can' - well, it has now taken its last flight on Mars."

The Mars rotter craft, which weighed 1.8kg, was prepared for a 30-day technology demonstration, which included just five flights. However, its missions were stretched way beyond expectations. It flew over the Mars terrain 14 more times than originally planned. It flew for more than two hours and eight minutes, covering a distance of 10.5 miles (17 km). It also peaked at an altitude of 24 metres.-

The rotor-craft, designed and built at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) near Los Angeles, was taken to Mars on NASA's Perseverance rover. Together, they landed on the Red Planet three years ago on the Martian basin known as Jerezo Crater. When it took its first flight on April 19, 2021, for a 39-second flight, NASA likened it to the 1903 first flight of the Wright Brothers.