NASA Mars Helicopter, Ingenuity, Makes First Flight On Another Planet
A new experimental helicopter from NASA deployed to Mars several months ago made contact with the red planet and since has performed the first powered flight in the planet’s history. The four-pound copter, named Ingenuity, held a small piece of wing fabric from the 1903 Wright brothers’ Flyer which made the first powered flight on Earth. “Altimeter data confirms that Ingenuity has performed its first flight, the first flight of a powered aircraft on another planet,” said the helicopter’s chief pilot, Harvard Grip, amid cheers from the team that oversaw the flight. The Ingenuity’s brief flight ...