The real story
Ingenuity weighed about 1.8 kg. The Martian atmosphere is only about 1% as dense as Earth's, so its two rotors had to spin at about 2,400 rpm, several times faster than a helicopter's on Earth. Under its solar panel was a postage-stamp-sized swatch of fabric from the Wright Flyer, and its first airfield in Jezero Crater was named Wright Brothers Field. On 19 April 2021 it lifted about 3 metres and hovered for 39 seconds.
It was meant to fly up to five times in 30 days. It flew 72, covering more than 17 km, climbing as high as 24 m and scouting routes for Perseverance. On 18 January 2024 its navigation system lost track over smooth, featureless sand, and the landing broke its rotor blades. NASA then reconfigured it as a stationary testbed that wakes up daily to log temperatures and images, with room to store up to 20 years of data for anyone who comes to collect it.
