NASA has announced plans to extend the successful Mars Helicopter mission until September. The Ingenuity rotor, which is only 18 inches in height, is designed to fly five times on Mars but has just completed its 21st journey across the Red Planet, and made history in April 2021 when it completed The first powered, controlled flight on any planet other than Earth.
The helicopter is currently serving as an explorer for the persistent rover, which is searching for ancient microbial life on the Red Planet, and will continue to test its own capabilities to support the design of future Mars aerial vehicles.
Ingenuity’s most recent successful flight is perhaps the first of at least three that the helicopter will need to cross the northwest part of the area known as “Séítah” and reach its next staging area, and is set to support a persistent exploration of the ancient river delta at Jezero Crater.
“Less than a year ago we didn’t even know if it was possible to fly a powered and controlled plane to Mars,” said Thomas Zurbuchen of NASA. “Now, we are looking forward to Ingenuity’s participation in the Perseverance second science expedition.”
Zurbuchen explained, “Such a shift in mentality in such a short period is simply astonishing, and one of the most historic in the annals of air and space exploration.”
The US space agency said the new Ingenuity area of operations is very different from the modest and relatively flat terrain it has been flying over since its maiden flight last April.