NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter recently broke new ground on the Red Planet during its latest flight. Weighing in at just 4 pounds (1.8 kilograms), Ingenuity covered an impressive distance of 1,901 feet (579 meters) on its 63rd Mars flight, marking its longest distance traveled since Flight 25. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which oversees the helicopter’s mission, shared this exciting update on Monday.
Ingenuity set its single-flight distance record of 2,310 feet (704 m) on Flight 25 back in April 2022. This achievement was followed by a distance of 2,051 feet (625 m) on Flight 9 in July 2021, placing Flight 63 in third place. The latest flight lasted 143 seconds, with Ingenuity reaching a maximum altitude of 39 feet (12 m) and a top speed of 14.1 mph (22.7 kph), according to the flight log. However, these numbers fall short of the current records of 169.5 seconds, 66 feet (20 m) in altitude, and 22.4 mph (36 kph).
Ingenuity initially touched down inside Mars’ Jezero Crater, a 28-mile-wide (45 kilometers) expanse, in February 2021 alongside NASA’s Perseverance rover. Its primary objective was to prove that powered flight is achievable in Mars’ thin atmosphere, a feat successfully accomplished during its initial five flights in the spring of 2021. Following these triumphs, NASA granted the helicopter a mission extension, employing it as a scouting tool for Perseverance’s search for signs of life and sample collection.
