NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter sets new distance record
NASA's Ingenuity helicopter has set a fresh distance record by traveling 2,315 feet in Mars's thin atmosphere. This impressive feat surpasses the previous record of 2,310 feet set in April 2022. The record-setting trip lasted for 135.4 seconds, clocking a speed of 36km/hr. With this, the 1.8kg chopper has now completed 69 flights on the Red Planet and is gearing up for its next.
Ingenuity's aerial imagery aids Perseverance Rover
Ingenuity rode along with the Perseverance Rover and landed on Mars in February 2021. It started as a technology demonstration mission and was the first to show that powered flights are possible on the Red Planet. The chopper acts as a scout for Perseverance. With its onboard cameras, it snaps stunning images of the Martian landscape. This data helps the Perseverance team plan safer and more efficient routes on Mars as they search for signs of ancient microbial life.
A look at Ingenuity's achievements
Ingenuity flew for the first time in April 2021 and has been going strong ever since. So far, the chopper has flown an overall distance of 16.7km on Mars, with a total flight time of 125.5 minutes, according to NASA. The maximum height it has flown off the ground is about 79ft and the maximum speed it has ever reached is 36km/hr.
