NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Takes off for its 23rd Flight

ADVERTISEMENT

Ingenuity’s mission has been extended to September 2022, allowing it to continue to test its limits to support future Mars air vehicle designs.

“Less than a year ago, we didn’t even know whether powered, controlled flight on Mars was possible,” Thomas Zurbuchen (associate administrator of NASA Science Mission Directorate), stated earlier this month. “We are excited about Ingenuity’s participation in Perseverance’s second science campaign.”

NASA’s JPL is updating its software to increase operational flexibility and flight safety. This will help enhance the chance of success. Ingenuity’s crew from NASA received the National Space Club & Foundation’s prestigious Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy. This trophy is awarded to a person/group that has made significant contributions in aeronautics or space research in the United States.

Tzanetos said that “just as Robert H. Goddard’s first liquid-fueled rockets of the 1920s led interplanetary missions,” Ingenuity could also lead to fleets of Mars aircraft soaring through the thin atmosphere.”