The first test flight of NASA's Ingenuity helicopter over the surface of Mars was successful , an achievement so significant that the company's scientists liken it to the Wright brothers' first flight in 1903.
See also: NASA: Watch the first flight of its helicopter to Mars
At about 3:30 a.m. Eastern Time (10:30 a.m. European Time), Ingenuity fired up its engines and lifted off from the surface of the Red Planet. It reached an altitude of about 10 feet (3 meters), where it hovered, swayed slightly in the wind, turned 96 degrees, and then gently returned to the Martian surface, in an autonomous flight that lasted about 30 seconds, the space agency said.
More than three hours into the flight, scientists working on the project received news of its success, via data that traveled 178 million miles to Earth via a complex communications network, from the helicopter to the rover, to a spacecraft orbiting Mars, to NASA's vast international network of space antennas, and finally to JPL.
"We can now say we've flown a helicopter to another planet," said MiMi Aung, NASA's Ingenuity program manager. "We went to Mars together. We had a Wright Brothers moment together."
See also: NASA: It does not expect humans to be able to fly to Mars
Scientists say the successful test, which they called a “flawless flight,” could ultimately help the space agency roam Mars more quickly as it searches for signs of life. Engineers are already thinking about future spacecraft, weighing 50 kilograms or more, that could carry out scientific experiments in the future.
"It opens new doors," said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA's associate administrator for the science mission. A helicopter can fly over craters and other areas that are inaccessible by vehicle.
To make its short flight, Ingenuity had to adapt to Mars' extremely thin atmosphere, just 1 percent of Earth's density, which makes it harder for its propellers to spin at about 2,500 revolutions per minute to produce lift.
See also: NASA's Ingenuity helicopter survived its first night on Mars
It is a very useful addition to NASA's latest mission to Mars, where, together with the Perseverance rover, a car-sized vehicle, it is set to explore a crater that once held water and could provide clues about the planet's history and whether there was ever life there.
As a tribute to the Wright brothers, Ingenuity has a postage stamp-sized piece of fabric from the brothers' aircraft, known as the Flyer, attached to a cable under its solar panel.
If all goes according to plan, the helicopter could make up to four flights in the coming weeks. The second could be at a higher altitude, around 5 meters, and then fly horizontally for a while before returning to the landing site.
