Ingenuity Helicopter Continues To Operate On Mars

One of the most important vehicles to ever operate on the surface of Mars is the Ingenuity helicopter. Now that we know controlled flight is possible on another planet, future missions will likely include some type of flight capability to expand their exploration range.

Recently, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced that Ingenuity had completed its 21st flight on Mars. That flight traversed 370 meters and lasted 129 seconds. When combined, all flights of Ingenuity since it was deployed have traveled over 4.6 kilometers since April 2021.

NASA originally only planned for Ingenuity to complete five flights over about a month of use. NASA later decided to increase the number of flights and continue exploring with Ingenuity.

JPL senior research scientist Matt Golombek says that Ingenuity has shaved maybe a week off the timeframe of the Perseverance rover. Ingenuity frequently helps find objects of interest for Perseverance to stop and explore.