A NASA space helicopter has set a new spaceflight record to Mars, achieving a 52-second flight over the surface of the Red Planet.
No helicopter or instrument to fly over the surface of the Red Planet has ever reached that number before, as the 4-pound, 19-inch helicopter reached a height of 46 feet above the surface of Mars while traveling 49 feet.
That flight was preceded by 35 other Mars flights and reached a maximum height of only 33 feet.
Although the helicopter was sent to the Red Planet to test the use of such a machine in future interplanetary missions, the performance of the helicopter, which astronomers have dubbed Ingenuity, has been good.
NASA was so inspired by that helicopter’s performance that it used it to assist Earth’s probe as it searched for evidence of ancient life on the planet.
The aircraft assists by using a downward facing camera to look for areas of interest to explore perseverance.
