NASA’s Mars Helicopter Ingenuity set two world records on its latest flight.
Moving into the Martian sky on Sunday, April 2, Creativity took off at a record speed of 6.5 meters per second 15 mph, comfortably surpassing the previous record of 6 meters per second 13 mph set in February, according to a digital trend report.
The helicopter also reached a height of 52.5 feet (16 meters), surpassing its previous record of 46 feet (14 meters), which it set in December.
This achievement is further confirmation of the impressive work that went into creating the 4-pound, 19-inch-tall helicopter, which has now completed 49 flights of the Red Planet.
And when Ingenuity arrived at Mars with the Perseverance rover in February 2021, the main goal of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory — home to the team overseeing the mission — was to see if it could fly and control in an atmosphere much thinner than Earth’s.
And after entering the history books with its first flight in April 2021, the team’s confidence grew, as it sent Creativity on longer, higher, and faster journeys over the rocky surface of Mars.
And all of the plane’s flights are self-driving, directed by the aircraft’s onboard guidance, navigation and control systems that run algorithms created by the JPL team.
And ingenuity was doing so well that JPL began using its downward-facing camera to gather data to help the Perseverance team find the safest and most efficient pathways as the probe weaved its way between sites of interest, looking for evidence of ancient microbial life.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for Ingenuity, as JPL engineers had to solve several technical issues that had affected the flying machine over the past two years.
And now that the helicopter is approaching its 50th flight, which is scheduled for Wednesday, it has exceeded NASA’s expectations, ensuring that we’ll see more advanced versions of Creation buzzing over the surface of Mars in the years to come.