'Ingenuity' has logged its last-ever flight
One of the aircraft's rotor blades has been damaged
leaving it incapable of further operation
(Bill Nelson, NASA administrator)
"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 is now taking its last flight on Mars."
Ingenuity was supposed to make just five short flights over 30 days
but it ended up flying dozens of times over a nearly three-year mission
(Bill Nelson, NASA administrator)
"What Ingenuity accomplished far exceeds what we thought possible. Almost three years ago, the helicopter made its first flight on the planet Mars. And living up to its name, Ingenuity made history as the first aircraft to make a powered, controlled flight on another planet."
Engineers will run final tests on Ingenuity and
download remaining images from its onboard computer