NASA has decided to delay the first flight of its Mars helicopter Ingenuity after the vehicle's last test ended earlier than planned.

"Based on data from the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter that arrived late Friday night, NASA has chosen to reschedule the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter's first experimental flight to no earlier than April 14," the agency said in a statement released on Saturday.

Ingenuity will now remain planted on Mars' surface until at least next Wednesday (April 14), the statement said. The delay comes in response to an anomaly during a test meant to see the helicopters blades reach a flight speed of 2,400 revolutions per minute.

"During the high-speed spin test, the sequence ended early during the transition from 'Pre-Flight' to 'Flight' mode. The helicopter is safe and healthy," according to the statement. 

Helicopter engineers are now reviewing data from the little chopper to understand precisely what happened. The statement added that the team will reschedule the full-speed test.