NASA’s plucky Ingenuity helicopter has simply accomplished its 69th flight on Mars, setting a brand new distance file within the course of.
The 4-pound, 19-inch-tall helicopter flew a colossal 2,315 ft (705 meters) on Wednesday, edging previous its earlier file of two,310 ft (704 meters) set in April 2022. That’s like flying 9 blocks north from Manhattan’s Occasions Sq. to 54th Road.
In one other mammoth mission simply final week, Ingenuity flew 2,304 ft (702 meters) throughout the martian floor.
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NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which is overseeing the Mars mission, introduced the brand new file in a submit on social media on Thursday.
'Tis the season of flying for Ingenuity! 🎁
The #MarsHelicopter accomplished Flight 69, touring its longest distance to date at ~2,313 ft (705 m) for 135 seconds. It’s going to try Flight 70 no sooner than Dec. 22: https://t.co/t0LD4ucmhi pic.twitter.com/3lFOnJ1ZYS
— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) December 21, 2023
Wednesday’s record-breaking flight in Mars’ super-thin ambiance took 135.Four seconds to finish and likewise noticed Ingenuity equal its high pace of 22.Four mph — achieved in two earlier flights.
Ingenuity arrived on Mars with the Perseverance rover in February 2021. Its mission started as a expertise demonstration to check the primary powered flight on Mars, a feat that it comfortably achieved throughout a brief hover in April 2021.
Since then, the plane has gone on to fly evermore complicated flights, staying within the air for a cumulative whole of 125.5 minutes, and protecting 10.Four miles (16.7 kilometers) whereas reaching altitudes of as much as 78.7 ft (24 meters).
Throughout its airborne adventures, NASA’s high-achieving helicopter has been utilizing its onboard digital camera to seize aerial pictures of the martian terrain which might be then beamed again to JPL in Southern California.
The aerial imagery has even been utilized by the Perseverance group to assist it plan the most secure and most effective routes for the wheel-based rover because it goes about exploring Mars for proof of historical microbial life. It’s even introduced consideration to fascinating rock formations, prompting the Perseverance group to ship the rover alongside to take a more in-depth look.
NASA engineers have been so impressed by Ingenuity’s efficiency that it appears seemingly that extra superior variations of the plane will probably be created for future mission to Mars and different celestial our bodies.
To have fun Ingenuity’s already-secured place in aviation historical past, the Nationwide Air and House Museum in Washington, DC, lately placed on show a prototype of the Mars helicopter.
However Ingenuity’s work shouldn’t be but performed. Whereas it nonetheless has energy and performance, the oldsters at JPL plan to maintain sending the spectacular machine skyward, persevering with its exploration of the crimson planet for so long as doable.
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