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NASA’s Helicopter Makes Historic Flight on Mars

NASA’s Helicopter Makes Historic Flight on Mars

NASA’s experimental helicopter Ingenuity made history today flying on the surface of Mars, according to the Associated Press. It marks the first time a powered aircraft has flown on another planet.

The flight only lasted 39 seconds and was at an altitude of 10 feet. However, experts say what it accomplished is monumental, especially since it was more than three times longer than the first flight of the Wright Flyer, referring to Orville and Wilbur Wright, that took place in December 1903.

“We can now say that human beings have flown a rotorcraft on another planet,” MiMi Aung, project manager for Ingenuity at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said, according to Yahoo News. “We’ve been talking for so long about our ‘Wright Brothers moment’ on Mars, and here it is.”

Ingenuity also carried a small piece of one of Orville and Wilbur Wright’s original aircrafts under its blades to pay tribute to the Wrights, according to Gizmodo. A team at NASA monitored the helicopter from mission control during the flight, which happened at 3:46 a.m. EST.

The experimental aircraft is 4-pound helicopter that’s only 19 inches tall and is made up of four legs and a box with computers inside. It also has a couple of rotating blades to help power the helicopter.

NASA experts considered the $85 million helicopter demo a big risk. Ingenuity was able to get to Mars by riding on Perseverance when it landed last February in an ancient river delta.

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