See Ingenuity’s Flight Map: 72 Helicopter Flights on Mars

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter became the first vehicle to achieve powered, controlled flight on another planet when it took to the Martian skies on April 19, 2021. This video maps the location of the 72 flights that the helicopter took over the course of nearly three years. Ingenuity far surpassed expectations — soaring higher and faster than previously imagined.

Designed to be a technology demonstration that would make no more than five test flights in 30 days, Ingenuity eventually flew more than 14 times farther than the distance expected, and logged more than two hours of total flight time. It flew for the final time on Jan. 18, 2024.

For more information on Ingenuity, visit: go.nasa.gov/ingenuity.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech