Ingenuity Mars Helicopter makes historic first flight

According to NASA, the Ingenuity team at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California confirmed the flight after receiving data from the helicopter via NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover today (April 19, 2021) at 0646 EDT (1146 BST).

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“Ingenuity is the latest in a long and storied tradition of NASA projects achieving a space exploration goal once thought impossible,” said acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk. “The X-15 was a pathfinder for the space shuttle. Mars Pathfinder and its Sojourner rover did the same for three generations of Mars rovers. We don’t know exactly where Ingenuity will lead us, but today’s results indicate the sky – at least on Mars – may not be the limit.”