NASA's Mars Helicopter Ingenuity Breaks Two Records in its 49th Flight on the Red Planet

NASA's Mars helicopter, the Ingenuity, concludes its 49th flight, breaking two new records after an astonishing take off at the rocky terrain of the Red Planet.

While the chopper has been flying on Mars for roughly two years already, it still has what it takes to make new milestones. Its April 2 flight broke its previous speed and altitude records.

NASA's Mars Helicopter Ingenuity Breaks Two Records

As per a report by Space.com, the Ingenuity chopper of the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) made a new monumental flight on Mars. It not only reached a new top speed, but it also exceeded its previous altitude record, the flight log of the little helicopter recently confirmed.

And as such, the Flight 49 of the Mars Helicopter broke two new records. It shows us that the space chopper has yet to hit its limits despite its multiple take off on the Red Planet.

The Ingenuity is now gearing up for its 50th flight on Mars. But despite that, the milestone that it booked in its recent flight continues to impress folks here on Earth. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which spearheads the Mars chopper, took to Twitter to announce its recent achievement.

The Ingenuity broke its previous flight's top speed, which is roughly 13 miles per second (MPH) or around 6 meters per second. On April 2, the little chopper got as fast as 15 mph, about 6.5 meters per second, according to Digital Trends.

In other words, the new top speed of the Mars helicopter is 13 mph. Although for most aircraft on Earth, this is a relatively slow pace, it is an impressive improvement for Ingenuity, which flies on uncharted terrains of the Martian planet.

Apart from the new top speed record, the little helicopter also reached its highest altitude on Mars. Last December, Digital Trends noted in its report that it flew up to 14 meters or roughly 46 feet. This time, the Mars helicopter broke its previous record, reaching an altitude of around 16 meters or 52.5 feet, to be more precise.

NASA's Mars Helicopter

The Ingenuity helicopter has been on Mars since February 2021. The little chopper landed in the Jezero crater on the Martian planet alongside the Perseverance rover.

The Mars chopper seeks to prove that aerial explorations on Mars are absolutely possible. Some argued that the thinness of the atmosphere on the planet would make it unattainable.

With that, a higher altitude and an improved speed could greatly help with that mission. As the helicopter continues to take off on the Red Planet, it might potentially book new flight records, showing us the possibilities of future aerial explorations on Mars.