On April 13, 2023, the Ingenuity drone flew its 50th flight on Mars. Ever since arriving on the red planet in 2021, the helicopter was deployed two years ago. At first only expected to fly 5 times and then stop working, the helicopter is now 10 times past its expected lifespan. On its 50th flight, the helicopter reached a record-breaking 59 feet (18 meters.) Before Ingenuity, no one even knew that powered flight was possible on Mars, and now almost two years later it has shown us that 50 times. In total, the Helicopter has flown over 7 miles on the planet’s surface. However, in these flights, Ingenuity can only go so far, the two-liter soda bottle-sized helicopter can only fly about 170 seconds before having to land and recharge its batteries. And the helicopter cannot get 2,000 feet away from the Perseverance rover that transmits the flight data to the helicopter.
But Ingenuity has been a huge success, as part of the Mars 2020 mission, now NASA can plan bigger drones to send to Mars and explore the planet easier without running into troubles with quick sand or large boulders like the rovers on the ground do. Who knows what's in store for the next few years?
Check out Ingenuity’s Flight Log Here: Flight Log