Sky May Not Be the Limit: History Made as NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Succeeds in Historic 1st Flight on Mars
- NASA's Mars Ingenuity helicopter has made history after successfully taking flight on Mars
- Footage captured by a Mars rover shows the helicopter hovering stably above the ground for a total of 30 seconds before ascending on Martian ground again
- This is the first time in history that an aircraft has made a successful flight on another planetary body
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NASA engineers have once again managed to make history after they designed the first aircraft that was able to take flight on another planetary body. The Mars Ingenuity Helicopter made history on Monday, April 19.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a US space agency, made this known in a statement posted on its website on Monday.
Source: UGC
Footage captured by a Mars rover shows the Ingenuity Helicopter rising and then hovering above Martian ground for a total of 30 seconds before it slowly ascends again after a total of 39 seconds above ground.
“Ingenuity is the latest in a long and storied tradition of NASA projects achieving a space exploration goal once thought impossible.
“The X-15 was a pathfinder for the space shuttle. Mars Pathfinder and it's 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," said acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk."
Meanwhile, space exploration junkies were super amped and had things to say about the exciting development:
Claire Reilly said:
"Genuinely excited to see what comes after this! Do we: A) Send these helicopters to new planets to explore even more? or B) Perfect this technology so I can get my own Mars Jetpack?"
Alex Costa said:
"This is absolutely incredible!"
Alexandre Oliveira said:
"...One small flight for a drone, one giant leap for dronekind..."
Dwight Davison said:
"30-second flight over 100 million miles away. To put that in perspective if you type into Google "How long was the first flight on Earth?" the answer is 12 seconds, 120 feet and 6.8 mph. This is a million times harder and a marvel of engineering! Great job NASA!"
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Earlier, Legit.ng reported that four astronauts from three nations took off for the International Space Station (ISS) from Florida as part of NASA's SpaceX Crew-2 mission.
The spacecraft, boarded by four astronauts, was launched in the early hours of Friday, April 23.
The astronauts expected to stay in the station for six months are Shane Kimbrough, Megan McArthur, Akihiko Hoshide, and Thomas Pesquet.
Source: Legit.ng
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