NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter on Mars, photographed by the rover Perseverance
NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology/ASU/MSSS
The small helicopter finally completed its role this year. NASA’s Ingenuity drone made its 72nd and final flight over Mars in January, damaging one of its rotors upon landing, ending one of the most unusual space exploration experiments in decades. Ta.
The drone, which arrived on the surface of Mars in 2021 with the Perseverance rover, flew autonomously to carry out its mission because long radio delays between Earth and Mars made direct control impossible.
