NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter completes a successful test flight, becoming the first aircraft to fly in the atmosphere of another world. Four more flights are planned.
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover snapped a selfie showing the robot geologist and the diminutive Ingenuity helicopter on the surface of the red planet as engineers ready the drone for an initial 90 second test flight.
The Ingenuity Mars drone has been released from the belly of the Perseverance rover and is now standing alone on the surface in preparation for a long-awaited “Wright brothers moment” in the red planet’s ultra-thin atmosphere.