Second Flight a Success for NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter successfully completed a second, more challenging flight on the Red Planet on April 22, 2021. Flight Test No. 2aimed for a higher maximum altitude, longer flight time, and sideways movement. The second flight test took place at “Wright Brothers Field” in Jezero Crater, Mars. . During the 52-second flight, the helicopter climbed to 16 feet (5 meters) compared to its first takeoff of 10 feet (3 meters). It also flew about 7 feet (2 meters) sideways and turned three times. The Ingenuity team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California determined that the flight was successful after receiving data from the helicopter and imagery from the Perseverance Mars rover. NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter became the first aircraft in history to make a powered, controlled flight on another planet on April 19, 2021.