Ingenuity Helicopter Aces 20th Flight on Red Planet

NASA's Mars Helicopter Ingenuity Helicopter Aces 20th Flight on Red Planet

upstart writes:

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity helicopter aces 20th flight on Red Planet:

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity has now outflown its Red Planet expectations by a factor of four.

The 4-pound (1.8 kilograms) Ingenuity landed on the floor of Jezero Crater with NASA's life-hunting, sample-caching Perseverance rover on Feb. 18, 2021. The solar-powered chopper soon embarked on a five-flight technology-demonstrating mission designed to show that powered flight is possible in the Red Planet's thin air.

Ingenuity aced that initial mission and was granted an extension, during which it's been serving as a scout for Perseverance and pushing the limits of Red Planet flight. And on Friday (Feb. 25), Ingenuity notched yet another milestone, this one of the round-number variety - its 20th Martian sortie.

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