Key Takeaways
- The NASA’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity is set for its 63rd flight, aiming to travel 574 m in 137 seconds.
- This mission will reposition the craft to a new airfield in Jezero Crater, extending its operational range.
- To date, Ingenuity has completed 62 flights covering 13.9 km, demonstrating powered flight on another planet.
Los Angeles: NASA’s Mars helicopter is targeting a new flight on Mars this week, NASA said on Wednesday.
The new flight, the 63th on the Red Planet, is scheduled no earlier than Oct 19.
The helicopter is expected to fly about 574 meters for 137 seconds to reposition itself in a new airfield, according to NASA.
Until now, the helicopter has completed 62 flights on Mars for a total time of 113 minutes, and total distance of 13.9 kilometers, according to NASA data.
The helicopter, named Ingenuity, arrived at Mars’ Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021, attached to the belly of NASA’s Perseverance rover. It is a technology demonstration to test powered flight on another planet for the first time.
The helicopter was designed to fly for up to 90 seconds, to distances of almost 300 meters at a time and about 3 to 4.5 meters from the ground, according to NASA
