NASA’s Perseverance rover has a special companion on the Red Planet, and it’s the Ingenuity Mars helicopter that has been performing way more than it was expected to. The tiny chopper has crossed yet another milestone with its 10th flight on Mars on July 24.
The helicopter has crossed one mile for the total distance flown while traveling over the Jezero Crater’s “Raised Ridges” area. While one mile doesn’t sound like a huge distance, but NASA only planned the chopper to fly for only a few meters. The robotic aircraft wasn’t even planned to cover nearly half as much.
More milestones awaiting
Besides, it was also the most ambitious flight for Ingenuity and it had to swing past 10 different waypoints, and flew to a record-high altitude of 40ft during the 310ft journey. It has captured several images to help the space agency produce stereoscopic images of Raised Ridges and take a call on a potential Perseverance visit.
It’s unclear how many more miles the chopper will travel. It is the first-of-its-kind helicopter and tends to push the boundaries with each passing flight. Its efficiency suggests it would help its rover buddy a lot more in the planned two-year mission.
More choppers in the future
NASA could build more advanced versions of the Ingenuity helicopter in the future. These aircraft will explore and analyze rocky terrain on Mars and other planets. This will help space agencies examine places where rovers cannot reach. These helicopters could enable rovers to navigate safely with the help of a map, allowing them to move quickly between research sites.
Besides, NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is getting ready to collect rock samples on Mars. These samples will be the first-ever Martian material that will be collected and sent back to Earth for further examination. The rover made its touchdown back in April, has been spending its time testing its systems and assisting Ingenuity by relaying flight instructions.