BREAKING NASA's Mars Ingenuity helicopter achieves first powered, controlled flight on another planet
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. -- NASA's experimental Mars helicopter rose from the dusty red surface into the thin air Monday, achieving the first powered, controlled flight on another planet.
Flight controllers in California confirmed Ingenuity's brief hop after receiving data via the Perseverance rover, which stood watch more than 200 feet away. Ingenuity hitched a ride to Mars on Perseverance, clinging to the rover's belly upon their arrival in an ancient river delta in February."Each world gets only one first flight," project manager MiMi Aung noted earlier this month. Speaking on a NASA webcast early Monday, she called it the "ultimate dream.
Details were initially sparse, but NASA had been aiming for a 40-second flight. The helicopter was supposed to rise 10 feet , hover for up to 30 seconds, then pivot toward the rover and land close to where it took off. The helicopter is topped with a solar panel for recharging the batteries, crucial for its survival during the minus-130 degree Fahrenheit Martian nights.