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STATUS UPDATES | December 20, 2023 The Right Stuff Written by Travis Brown, Chief Engineer, and Martin Cacan, Chief Pilot, Ingenuity Mars Helicopter at NASA’s Jet Propulsion LaboratoryFirst Controlled Flight of Mars Helicopter Prototype: The first full-scale Ingenuity prototypeis tested inside JPL’s 25-foot thermal-vacuum chamber (5/31/2016). Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Download image › TrailblazerLong before Ingenuity’s historic first flight on Mars, engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and their collaborators at AeroVironment Inc. were already moving the boundaries of human knowledge and aeronautic achievement with testing here on Earth. Flights by an Ingenuity prototype in 2016 showed that controlled,...

Flight 36 Sol 642 Date Dec. 10, 2022 Horizontal Distance 110m ~361ft Max. Altitude 10m ~33ft Max. Groundspeed 5.50 m/s ~12.3 ft/sec Duration 60.5 seconds Route of Flight Airfield X***Flight Log Flights 36 (as of 12/10/22) Distance Flown 7,517 meters (~24,663 ft) Highest Altitude 14 meters (~46 ft) Fastest Ground Speed 5.50 m/s (12.3 mph) Flight Time ~60.9 minutes (3,652 seconds)***This detailed article includes the audio of a press conference (37:38 min) given on December 12th by the Ingenuity team, but I haven't been able to find the video on the NASA sites.December 14, 2022Nasa's Ingenuity helicopter to fly...

#MarsHelicopter can’t be stopped! Ingenuity successfully completed its 21st flight on the Red Planet. The small rotorcraft traveled 370 meters at a speed of 3.85 meters per second and stayed aloft for 129.2 seconds. http://go.nasa.gov/ingenuity

Ingenuity has flown 17 times! After a successful traverse to the northeast, the radio comms link between Ingenuity & @NASAPersevere was disrupted during landing. The rover later received telemetry suggesting Ingenuity is healthy & it’s an understood issue. https://go.nasa.gov/31A9FqU

The #MarsHelicopter successfully performed a short hop in its current airfield to test out higher rpm settings so it can fly in lower atmospheric densities on the Red Planet. This test also leaves the team room for an rpm increase if needed for future flights.

'Rochette' After Perseverance Sampling: This image taken by NASA's Perseverance rover on Sept. 7, 2021, PDT (Sept. 8, EDT), shows two holes where the rover's drill obtained chalk-size samples from rock nicknamed "Rochette." Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Full image & caption ›NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover successfully collected its first pair of rock samples, and scientists already are gaining new insights into the region. After collecting its first sample, named “Montdenier,” Sept. 6, the team collected a second, “Montagnac,” from the same rock Sept. 8.Analysis of the rocks from which the Montdenier and Montagnac samples were taken and from the rover’s previous sampling...

Perseverance's First Cored Mars Rock in Sample Tube: Perseverance’s first cored-rock sample is visible inside this titanium sample collection tube in this image taken on Sept. 6, 2021. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Full image and caption ›NASA’s Perseverance rover today completed the collection of the first sample of Martian rock, a core from Jezero Crater slightly thicker than a pencil. Mission controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California received data that confirmed the historic milestone. The core is now enclosed in an airtight titanium sample tube, making it available for retrieval in the future. Through the Mars Sample Return...

Happy Flight the 13th! Ingenuity has achieved its 13th successful flight on Mars. It traveled at 7.3 mph (3.3 m/s) taking images pointing southwest of the South Seítah region. This aerial scouting continues to aid in planning @NASAPersevere’s next moves.

Little Ginny has a full dozen flights under its belt!NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity made its 12th Red Planet flight on Monday (Aug. 16), during which the little chopper served as eyes in the sky for its larger companion, the Perseverance rover.The flight was designed to serve as reconnaissance for the rover's continuing explorations of a region dubbed South Séítah, according to a flight plan NASA posted before the attempt that called the sortie "ambitious.""Flying over Séítah South carries substantial risk because of the varied terrain," Ingenuity scientists wrote in the plan. "When we choose to accept the risks associated with...

By Meghan Bartels - Senior WriterThat was flight 11, if you've lost count.NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity on Mars is still going strong, notching its 11th Red Planet flight on Thursday (Aug. 5).The flight, which saw the little chopper travel 1,250 feet (380 meters), was designed to get Ingenuity to a set location that the helicopter will now make its base for one or more geology reconnaissance flights of South Séítah, a rugged patch of ground on the floor of Mars' Jezero Crater.According to a flight plan published on Wednesday (Aug. 4), Ingenuity woke up for its sortie at about 12:30...

The #MarsHelicopter’s success today marks its 1-mile total distance flown. It targeted an area called "Raised Ridges." This is the most complex flight yet w/ 10 distinct waypoints and a record height of 40 ft (12 m). Its scouting is aiding @NASAPersevere . http://go.nasa.gov/3dci8jEhttps://twitter.com/NASAJPL/status/1419152522757894147Goals for Flight 10:STATUS UPDATES | July 23, 2021 Aerial Scouting of ‘Raised Ridges’ for Ingenuity’s Flight 10https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/status/316/aerial-scouting-of-raised-ridges-for-ingenuitys-flight-10/

Ingenuity tested out some new tricks on its ninth flight.NASA's experimental Mars helicopter Ingenuity has now flown nine times on the Red Planet, letting mission engineers test a host of capabilities that could pave the way for more Martian choppers.Ingenuity made its ninth flight on Mars on Monday (July 5), when it remained aloft for 166.4 seconds and flew as fast as 16 feet (5 meters) per second, according to a tweet from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, which oversees the project.Before the flight, NASA announced that the little aircraft would attempt new feats on this sortie, including taking...

NASA's experimental Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, has now flown eight times on the Red Planet, traveling farther than scientists hoped would be possible. The little chopper made its most recent Mars sortie on Monday (June 21). During the flight, Ingenuity remained aloft for 77.4 seconds, flew 525 feet (160 meters), and landed about 440 feet (133.5 m) away from its companion, the Perseverance rover, according to a tweet from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, which operates the helicopter. >>> Monday's flight came about two weeks after Ingenuity's previous flight, on June 8. The success of the new flight marks a...

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter acquired this image on May 22, 2021 using its black and white navigation camera. This camera is mounted in the helicopter’s fuselage and pointed directly downward to track the ground during flight. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.The next flight of NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter will take place no earlier than this Sunday, June 6. Regardless of flight date, data will be returned to Earth over the subsequent three days.The flight profile will send Ingenuity to a location about 350 feet (106 meters) south of its current location, where it will touch down at its new base of operations. This...

Ingenuity’s Successful Fifth Flight: NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter’s fifth flight was captured on May 7, 2021, by one of the navigation cameras aboard the agency’s Perseverance rover. This was the first time it flew to a new landing site. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Full image and caption ›The Red Planet rotorcraft headed south in support of furthering research into the potential use of aerial scouts on Mars in the future.NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter completed its fifth flight on the Red Planet today with its first one-way journey from Wright Brothers Field to an airfield 423 feet (129 meters) to the south. After...

#MarsHelicopter continues to thrive! The mighty rotorcraft completed its 16th flight on the Red Planet last weekend, traveling 116 meters northeast for 109 seconds. It captured color images during the short hop, but those will come down in a later downlink.

Perseverance's Left Navcam Views Ingenuity During its Third Flight: NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter can be seen hovering during its third flight on April 25, 2021, as seen by the left Navigation Camera aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Full image and caption ›The craft’s April 25 flight was conducted at speeds and distances beyond what had ever been previously demonstrated, even in testing on Earth.NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter continues to set records, flying faster and farther on Sunday, April 25, 2021 than in any tests it went through on Earth. The helicopter took off at 1:31 a.m. EDT (4:31...

Ingenuity's Second Flight As Seen by Perseverance: NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image using its left Mastcam-Z camera. Mastcam-Z is a pair of cameras located high on the rover’s mast. This is one still frame from a sequence captured by the camera while taking video. This image was acquired on Apr. 22, 2021. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS. Download image ›The small rotorcraft’s horizons were expanded on its second flight.NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter successfully completed its second Mars flight on April 22 – the 18th sol, or Martian day, of its experimental flight test window. Lasting 51.9 seconds, the flight added several new...

*Click on the link to watch the video* "The drone, called Ingenuity, was airborne for less than a minute, but it is the first powered, controlled flight by an aircraft on another world. Ingenuity was carried to Mars in the belly of Nasa's Perseverance Rover, which touched down on the Red Planet in February. This successful attempt means that a further four flights will be attempted over the coming days, each one taking the helicopter further afield.

NASA's Ingenuity today hovered in the skies of Mars making the equipment the first human-made helicopter to take flight on another planet.Amid cheers in the control room, engineers confirmed the diminutive helicopter had spun up its rotors, taken off, landed, and spun everything down, leaving the stage set for further tests. An image from the helicopter's onboard navigation camera showing its shadow on the surface of Mars was swiftly followed by another sequence from the Perseverance rover showing the helicopter hovering.Ingenuity's shadow on Mars. Source: Screengrab from NASA/ESA live feed (click to enlarge)As one of the newest bits of kit...