During its 69th flight on Mars this week, NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter flew a colossal distance, setting a new record in the process.
NASA’s plucky Ingenuity helicopter has just completed its 69th flight on Mars, setting a new distance record in the process.
The 4-pound, 19-inch-tall helicopter flew a colossal 2,315 feet (705 meters) on Wednesday, edging past its previous record of 2,310 feet (704 meters) set in April 2022. That’s like flying nine blocks north from Manhattan’s Times Square to 54th Street.
In another mammoth mission just last week, Ingenuity flew 2,304 feet (702 meters) across the martian surface.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which is overseeing the Mars mission, announced the new record in a post on social media on Thursday.
Wednesday’s record-breaking flight in Mars’ super-thin atmosphere took 135.
