NASA's Mars helicopter, first to fly on another world, ends marathon mission with rotor damage
CBSN
Designed to fly just five times over 30 days, NASA's Ingenuity helicopter lasted nearly three years, soaring across the surface of Mars and logging 72 flights before a hard or tilted landing that damaged one or more rotors forced flight controllers to finally bring the marathon mission to a close.
Just as the Wright brothers "unlocked the skies on Earth...we all truly believe that Ingenuity has done the same for Mars, and we couldn't be prouder of our little, tough trailblazer," Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said Thursday.
"While Ingenuity is not going to fly again, new generations of Mars helicopters are on the drawing board, and we're excited for what the future will hold in the skies of Mars."
