Ingenuity ultimately operated for nearly three years and performed 72 flights over that span. On its final flight, the helicopter climbed to 40 feet (12 meters) above the Martian surface, but after 32 seconds, the chopper was back on the ground and communications had stopped.

Ingenuity may never fly above the surface of Mars again, but the downed helicopter is otherwise healthy and could serve as a weather station for decades, JPL says.

The first aircraft to achieve a powered, controlled flight on another planet, NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter, crashed on Mars 11 months ago when its navigation system became befuddled by a bland, featureless stretch of terrain and slammed so hard into the Martian surface that the tips of its rotor blades snapped.

Engineers now say they understand the most likely cause of the Ingenuity helicopter's crash landing on Mars earlier this year.

NASA has completed the final assessment of its Ingenuity Mars helicopter and finally revealed what led to its crash. The rotorcraft flew for the last time on January 18 this year and met its end after it made a hard landing, breaking its blades.

NASA has made history by conducting the first-ever aircraft accident investigation on another planet. The focus of the investigation was the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which experienced a hard landing during its 72nd flight on January 18,

NASA’s Ingenuity was the first ever flying vehicle operated on another planet. It truly was a marvel, and every flight outperformed the hope of its designers – but on January 18, 2024, the little helicopter that could had an accident that brought an end to its career.