World records are set by a self-flying helicopter on Mars

Because of its sparse atmosphere, the Martian environment is extremely difficult to fly by. Oxygen is present in trace amounts in the atmosphere, which is made up of 95% carbon dioxide. There is only 610 Pa, or 0.006% of Earth’s average atmospheric pressure, on the planet. Thus, aircraft rotors and lift wings are much less efficient. A small helicopter, Ingenuity, has been able to overcome these challenges and set several world records.
NASA’s ingenuity completed its first controlled flyby of Mars in April of 2021. This was accomplished by ascending to 3 meters, hovering for 30 seconds, and then descending. It took 39.1 seconds to complete the whole thing. The helicopter set several records with its 25th flight a year later, on April 8, 2022. This flight contains the latest and farthest flight through the Jezero crater on Mars, which covered a distance of 704 meters. In addition, it set new records for flight duration (161.3 seconds) and ground speed (5.5 meters per second). On December 3, 2022, it climbed to its highest point during a single trip. During this period, it climbed to a height of 14 meters above the surface of Mars, its highest point.
Ingenuity is designed to use two carbon fiber rotors spinning at around 2,400 rpm to provide lift, unlike land-based helicopters. A conventional chopper takes five times as long. On Mars, though, this creates just enough thrust to lift an airplane the size of a sack of flour.
Creation has a mass of 1.8 kg, however, in Martian gravity it weighs only 680 g. Creation is designed to fly autonomously using an onboard computer due to the communication latency between Earth and Mars from 5 to 20 minutes. All flight plans are executed by the on-board computer. Before each flight, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory sent back a list of waypoints and landmarks. It aims to define the path that creativity should take.
Dexterity is equipped with many tools. Among them are a navigation camera, a laser rangefinder and an inertial measurement unit. These are fed into the aircraft’s on-board computer, enabling it to respond to flight conditions in real time without the need for pre-programmed human input.
The wheels of creativity are prone to stalling or losing control due to the thin Mars air. In order to keep the helicopter stable, the computer must constantly make small control inputs. Software updates and workarounds were necessary because the Ingenuity was initially built to perform short, direct flights over flat terrain. She aims to protect her as, on her journey, she has crossed more difficult terrain.
The feasibility of powered flights on Mars was initially a question that sanctioned the Mars Helicopter project. However, Creativity has passed every test, demonstrating that flying through Mars’ thin atmosphere is entirely possible. The development of future Mars-bound aircraft will benefit from the lessons learned from Ingenuity, even though it doesn’t include any science instruments and can’t reveal much about Mars itself. His descendants will eventually be able to explore currently inaccessible regions and break more amazing records.