NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter has taken its longest Mars flight since June, traveling 319 feet as it heads for a rendezvous with the Perseverance rover.
NASA’s plucky Mars helicopter just keeps on going.
The Ingenuity aircraft completed its 31st flight on the red planet on September 6, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which is overseeing the current Mars mission, reported on Wednesday.
The helicopter, which flew into the record books in April 2021 when it became the first aircraft to perform a powered, controlled flight on another planet, traveled for 319 feet (97.2 meters) at an altitude of 33 feet (10 meters), JPL said in a tweet. It’s yet to comment in more detail on the flight.
Tuesday’s sortie was the second since June 11 after which the mission team grounded Ingenuity due to an uptick in dust storms and bitterly cold seasonal temperatures.
