NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter (technically a rotorcraft) has made dozens of tiny aerial jaunts throughout Mars since first arriving on the planet in February 2021, however its newest flight set a new record for the tiny plane. On December 21, NASA reported Ingenuity’s 69th flight was additionally its farthest, in keeping with its flight log—over 135 seconds, the four-pound, 19-inch-tall helicopter traveled roughly 2,315 ft at a pace of almost 22.5 mph, beating its earlier distance of about 2,310 ft achieved in April 2022.
As spectacular as Ingenuity’s most up-to-date flight already is, the journey went even higher than initially anticipated. According to NASA’s Flight 69 preview log, the company estimated its helicopter to journey about 2,304 ft over 131 seconds.
[Related: Name a better duo than NASA’s hard-working Mars rover and helicopter.]
In complete, Ingenuity has to this point spent 125.5 minutes aloft to fly almost 10.5 miles throughout the floor at altitudes as excessive as virtually 80 ft. While chugging alongside, the helicopter snaps pictures of the bottom beneath it to ship again dwelling to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) workforce overseeing this system in California. As Digital Trends notes, the visible aids have to this point helped NASA engineers plot environment friendly, protected paths for the venture’s Perseverance rover. In some situations, images even revealed new close by geologic formations that the rover then detoured to discover.
Ingenuity lengthy surpassed its authentic estimated lifespan, even with out taking its newest feats into consideration. When first launched again in 2021, NASA anticipated the plane to solely final for five flights in an effort to check avionic capabilities within the skinny Martian air (simply 1 % of Earth’s environment), and had no intention of using it as a main element within the total Perseverance mission.
It hasn’t all been clean flying for Ingenuity, nonetheless. Back in May 2022, the helicopter briefly went darkish after a seasonal enhance in atmospheric mud prevented its photo voltaic arrays from totally recharging. Thankfully, engineers sorted out the scenario and reestablished communications with their rotorcraft. Now, after almost 14 occasions extra journeys than first supposed below its wings, Ingenuity doesn’t seem like slowing down anytime quickly.
[Related: Why NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter briefly went dark on Mars.]
Now that the helicopter exceeded NASA’s hopes, the company believes comparable, extra superior iterations might be deployed throughout future Mars missions, and even perhaps different locales all through the photo voltaic system. For now, nonetheless, it’s someday at a time for Ingenuity—its seventieth flight can also be tentatively scheduled for this week.