NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter flew a total of a mile over Mars

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter has just marked a milestone. Espace.com reports that ingenuity crossed the one-mile mark for the total distance flown on his 10th flight on July 24, when he flew over the “raised ridges” area of ​​Jezero Crater. It might not seem like a lot of flight, but NASA was only planning a few test flights for Ingenuity before expanding the vehicle’s role – the robotic plane wouldn’t have covered so much ground otherwise.

It was also the most ambitious flight to date. The helicopter had to pass 10 different waypoints and flew at a record altitude of 40 feet during the 310 foot trip. It was also to capture enough images to help NASA produce stereoscopic images of Raised Ridges and help inform a potential visit to the Perseverance rover.

It is not known exactly how many additional kilometers Ingenuity can accumulate. The helicopter is the first of its kind and tends to push the limits with each new flight. However, the one-mile threshold is significant in itself – it suggests that the aircraft could accomplish a lot in Perserverance’s planned two-year mission, and possibly more.