NASA’s robotic experimental vehicle Ingenuity had a landmark liftoff on Monday, becoming the first manmade helicopter or airplane to take off on another planet.
Ingenuity’s first flight took place at 3:34am Eastern Time, lasted less than a minute, and didn’t cover a lot of distance. The drone lifted off and hovered about 10 feet above the terrain of the red planet. The achievement caused an understandable commotion back at NASA HQ, as MiMi Aung, the project manager for Ingenuity, and her team celebrated.
Ingenuity’s robotic partner in Mars exploration, was also impressed by the quick flight.
You wouldn’t believe what I just saw.
More images and video to come…#MarsHelicopterhttps://t.co/PLapgbHeZU pic.twitter.com/mbiOGx4tJZ
— NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) April 19, 2021
The news from Mars led to understandable comparisons to the brothers who invented the airplane.
117 years—less than 2 human lifespans—after the Wright Bros flew 120 feet at Kitty Hawk, @nasa flies a helicopter 179 million miles away on Marshttps://t.co/OPowy4ZFV7
— Bill Weir (@BillWeirCNN) April 19, 2021
The team responsible for Ingenuity celebrated when the helicopter’s history-making flight was confirmed.
"Ingenuity has performed its first flight — the first flight of a powered aircraft on another planet!"
The data reveals: Our #MarsHelicopter has had a successful first flight: 🚁 pic.twitter.com/h5a6aGGgHG
— NASA (@NASA) April 19, 2021
Because of the thin atmosphere on Mars — it’s just 1/100th as dense as ours here on Earth — flying was an especially daunting technical achievement. In fact, some thought it was-near-impossible because there is almost no air to push against. NASA engineers used ultralight materials, fast-spinning blades and high-powered computer processing to get Ingenuity off the ground and keep it from veering off and crashing.
Ingenuity could do up to four more flights. The first three are designed to test basic abilities of the helicopter. The third flight could fly a distance of 160 feet and then return. Once those are done, it will be left behind as Perseverance continues on its mission to explore the planet.
The success of Ingenuity provides new hope for NASA and its plans for further experimentation. This was not an especially expensive endeavor; it cost just $85 million, which in the world of space exploration, isn’t out of the ordinary. and it provides proof of a new type of transportation for NASA to use to continue studying and exploring across our solar system. As the technology improves and designs are refined, future explorers will use this moment to advance space exploration, just as those who followed the Wright Brothers pushed the evolution of aviation.