How long did the Mars Ingenuity helicopter fly before its mission ended?

The answer

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter, which arrived on Mars with the Perseverance rover in February 2021, completed its final flight on January 18, 2024, after a rotor blade was damaged during landing. Originally designed as a 30-day technology demonstration with five planned flights, Ingenuity vastly exceeded expectations with 72 flights over nearly three years, covering 17.7 kilometers of total distance and reaching a maximum altitude of 24 meters. It logged over 128 minutes of total flight time in Mars's atmosphere, which is just 1% the density of Earth's - requiring rotor blades spinning at 2,400 RPM, roughly eight times faster than a terrestrial helicopter. Ingenuity served as an aerial scout for Perseverance, demonstrating that powered, controlled flight on another planet is achievable and paving the way for larger Mars rotorcraft.