NASA’s Mars helicopter takes flight, 1st for another planet
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s experimental Mars helicopter has taken flight.
The little 4-pound helicopter named Ingenuity rose from the dusty red surface into the thin Martian air Monday, achieving the first powered, controlled flight on another planet.
“Ingenuity has performed its first flight — the first flight of a powered aircraft on another planet!”
The data reveals: Our #MarsHelicopter has had a successful first flight: 🚁 pic.twitter.com/h5a6aGGgHG
— NASA (@NASA) April 19, 2021
Ground controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California announced the news after receiving and reviewing the data.
It took three hours for the news to reach Earth via the Perseverance rover and a satellite around Mars, 178 million miles away. The helicopter arrived at Mars in February, clinging to Perseverance’s belly.
