NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity lands at new airfield after 5th flight - Space.com

Ingenuity just made a one-way flight as its mission enters a new phase.

(1.8 kilograms) chopper climbed to an altitude of 16.5 feet (5 meters) and cruised south for 423 feet (129 m), following the same path it took last week on flight number four, NASA officials said.

After reaching its destination, Ingenuity climbed to 33 feet (10 m) — twice as high in the Martian sky as it had ever gotten — snapped some photos and then landed in a new place, wrapping up a 108-second flight and embarking on a new journey of exploration.

Video: See the view on Mars from Ingenuity helicopter's fourth flight.

"We bid adieu to our first Martian home, Wright Brothers Field, with grateful thanks for the support it provided to the historic first flights of a planetary rotorcraft," Bob Balaram, Ingenuity chief engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, said in a statement today. .

"No matter where we go from here, we will always carry with us a reminder of how much those two bicycle builders from Dayton meant to us during our pursuit of the first flight on another world," Balaram said.

The #MarsHelicopter completed its 1st one-way trip and 5th flight on Mars.

Today's flight helps transition the little chopper into a new phase, during which Ingenuity will showcase the ability of rotorcraft to serve as scouts for Mars rovers.

In addition to serving as a relay station, the rover has been documenting Ingenuity's historic flights, capturing video and, on flight number four, audio of the rotorcraft in action!

"The plan forward is to fly Ingenuity in a manner that does not reduce the pace of Perseverance science operations," Balaram said in today's postflight statement. .