NASA’s experimental helicopter on Mars took off from the dusty red surface of Mars on Monday to complete the first controlled, motorized flight over another planet.
The triumph was compared to the feat of the Wright brothers. In fact, the small 1.8-pound (4-pound) device, called the Ingenuity, carried a piece of fabric from the wing of the Wright aircraft that in 1903 made history in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
“Altimeter data confirms that Ingenuity has made its first flight, the first flight of a motor aircraft on another planet,” said the helicopter’s chief pilot, Havard, Greap. he broke his voice as his companions burst into applause.
Flight controllers in California confirmed Ingenuity’s brief flight after receiving data through the Perseverance vehicle, which mounted guard more than 65 meters (200 feet) away. Ingenuity traveled to Mars with Perseverance, subject to the underside of the vehicle on its arrival in the ancient delta of a river last February.
The $ 85 million prototype was considered a high-risk project but with the potential for great rewards.
“Every world has only one first flight,” Aung said this month. In statements Monday morning on NASA’s broadcast, he described it as “the ultimate dream.”
Aung and his team had to wait more than three harrowing hours before finding out if the pre-scheduled flight had been successful 287 million kilometers (178 million miles) away. To increase his anxiety, a software error prevented the helicopter from taking off the previous week, forcing engineers to look for a solution.
The operations center erupted in applause, cheers and laughter when success was finally announced. There was more when the first black-and-white image of the Ingenuity appeared on its screens, showing its shadow as it flew over the surface of Mars. Then came the stunning color images of the helicopter on its descent back to the surface, taken by Perseverance, “the best hostess little Ingenuity could dream of,” Aung said as he thanked everyone.
NASA had planned a 40-second flight, and although there were few details at first, the aircraft met all its objectives: launch, takeoff, flight, descent, and landing.