NASA helicopter makes history taking flight on Mars

NASA’s experimental Mars helicopter has taken flight.

The little 4-pound helicopter named Ingenuity rose into the thin Martian air Monday, achieving the first powered, controlled flight on another planet.

Ground controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California announced the news after receiving and reviewing the data.

The little rotorcraft that could.🚁💨

Ingenuity documented its historic ascent today. Here’s the #MarsHelicopter‘s POV during first flight. That’s its shadow on the ground below. pic.twitter.com/wXgLyTDbjm

— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) April 19, 2021

It took three hours for the news to reach Earth via the Perseverance rover and a satellite around Mars, 178 million miles away.

The helicopter arrived at Mars in February on Perseverance.

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