NASA said, in a statement reported by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), that the plane was forced to make an “emergency landing,” which led to damage to its rotors.

According to Bill Nelson, the space agency's director, Ingenuity remains “straight,” but images showed that “one or more of the rotor blades” were damaged. Although it can no longer fly, Nelson confirmed that the innovative helicopter made more flights than planned.

“The innovation has paved the way for future flights in our solar system, and paves the way for smarter, safer human missions to Mars and beyond,” Nelson said in a video message on social media. “This incredible helicopter has flown higher and farther than we ever imagined, and has helped NASA do what we do best — make the impossible possible.”

The circumstances of the accident are being investigated.

Ingenuity arrived at the Red Planet in February 2021 aboard the Perseverance rover. It was meant to be a brief technical demonstration to demonstrate the possibility of flight in the extremely thin atmosphere of Mars. However, the rover continued to support Perseverance in exploring Jezero Crater, viewing areas of Mars that might be of interest, and helping the robot and humans on Earth choose the right path.

Ingenuity carried out 72 flights and flew more than 14 times farther than originally planned.