Flying a helicopter on Mars: NASA's Ingenuity

First powered flight on another planet opens the door for a new era of exploration.

Dan Fox

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290 million kilometres away, NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter has taken the first step towards a new type of space exploration.

Hovering 3 meters above the Martian surface before rotating 90 degrees and safely landing, this was the first powered flight on another planet.

In this video we explore the challenges of this achievement and ask what it means for the future of space exploration.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-01060-5

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