"Ingenuity, the tiny Mars helicopter that could, no longer can," NASA said.
"At least one rotor broke during the final flight of the robotic flying machine last week," NASA said. Ingenuity remains in contact with its companion, the Perseverance rover, which is probing a dried-up riverbed for signs of extinct Martian life.
Ingenuity will now be abandoned.
"I am saddened to announce that Ingenuity, the little helicopter that could — and kept saying, 'I think I can, I think I can' — has now made its final flight to Mars," announced Bill Nelson, administrator of NASA, in a video message posted on X.
Ingenuity arrived on Mars on the Perseverance rover in February 2021. The helicopter was a late addition to the mission, a low-budget, high-risk, high-return technology demonstration using many off-the-shelf components that provided important lessons to future mission designers during the 72 its flight through the thin atmosphere of the planet.
"They can rely on what we have achieved. They can refer to the fact that a cell phone processor from 2015 can survive in the radiation environment of Mars for two and a half years. The lithium-ion battery cells that are commercial, ready to sell, can survive two and a half years. These are huge wins for NASA engineers," said Theodore Tzanetos, Ingenuity's project manager. /BGNES