NASA’s miniature robot helicopter Ingenuity performed a successful takeoff and landing on Mars early on Monday, 19th achieving the first powered, controlled flight by an aircraft over the surface of another planet, the U.S. space agency said.
The solar-powered helicopter’s debut on Mars marked a 21st-century Wright Brothers moment for NASA that said success could pave the way for newer modes of exploration on the red planet and other destinations in the vast solar system, such as Saturn’s moon Titan and Venus.
Mission managers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) near Los Angeles burst into applause and cheers as engineering data beamed back from Mars confirmed that the 4-pound (1.8-kg) twin-rotor helicopter had performed its maiden 40-second flight as planned about three hours earlier.
