The Mars Chopper concept, developed by NASA's JPL, Ames, and AeroVironment, envisions a vehicle roughly SUV-sized to study terrain beyond rover reach, though it remains distinct from Ingenuity due to Mars' thin atmosphere, autonomy, terrain navigation, communication delays, and dust challenges.

Throughout its mission, Ingenuity acted as a scouting asset for Perseverance, providing high-altitude imagery and terrain mapping to aid route planning and surface exploration.

Ingenuity started as a technology demonstration attached to NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance mission to test powered, controlled flight in Mars' thin atmosphere and validate rotorcraft as a tool for planetary exploration.

The helicopter achieved its first flight on April 19, 2021, then exceeded its initial five-flight plan by completing 72 flights over more than 1,000 Martian days, accumulating over two hours of flight time and venturing farther than expected.

A crash landing on January 18, 2024 during its 72nd flight damaged a rotor blade; NASA JPL determined navigation drift over featureless terrain caused a harder-than-expected landing and subsequent rotor damage.

Ingenuity's legacy lies in proving aerial exploration on other worlds and enabling new reconnaissance for future missions, while inspiring a broader Mars Chopper concept with about a 5 kg payload and roughly 3 km range per Martian day.