Flying on Mars is possible: Here's how small rotorcraft Ingenuity proved it - India Today

Months after it landed in Mars's Jazero crater, cradled in the belly of an SUV-sized rover, the Ingenuity helicopter has created history, recording consecutive successful powered flights on another planet.

The Ingenuity helicopter recently completed its fifth flight on Mars with its first one-way journey from Wright Brothers Field to an airfield 423 feet to the south.

When the Perseverance rover moved away from the Ingenuity helicopter to monitor its initial movement, the first objective for the small rotorcraft was to survive the frigid cold Marian night.

On April 19, the helicopter spread its wings as it became the first aircraft in history to make a powered, controlled flight on another planet.

Ingenuity climbed to its prescribed maximum altitude of 10 feet and maintained a stable hover for 30 seconds before descending down on to Mars's surface logging a total of 39.1 seconds of flight.

After successfully completing its test flight, Ingenuity took its second hop on April 22 lasting 51.9 seconds in the thin air.

While the first flight topped at 10 feet, the second jump went up to 16 feet with a five-degree tilt accelerating the craft sideways for about seven feet.

During Ingenuity's third flight, the craft flew faster and farther as engineers moved the helicopter to an altitude of 16 feet and downrange to 164 feet, just over half the length of a football field with a top speed of 6.6 feet per second.

With the success of three flights, engineers became hopeful of longer flights, pushing Ingenuity to limits as it rose for the fourth flight from the Jazero crater

Also Read: In a first, Perseverance Mars rover makes oxygen on another planet

With five successful flights under its belt, Ingenuity has proved that powered, controlled flight is possible on the Red Planet adding a critical aerial aspect to interplanetary exploration

"Since Ingenuity remains in excellent health, we plan to use it to benefit future aerial platforms while prioritizing and moving forward with the Perseverance rover team's near-term science goals."