Ingenuity sets new altitude record for 50th flight above the surface of Mars

About a fortnight ago, the unmanned Ingenuity helicopter was able to climb 16 metres during its 49th flight over the surface of Mars. The record lasted several days.

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Last week Ingenuity made its anniversary flight. On its 50th launch it was able to climb to an altitude of 18 metres, a new record. The unmanned helicopter took 145.7 seconds to cover a distance of 322.2 metres.

Ingenuity has been on Mars with the Perseverance rover for two years. The drone will celebrate its second anniversary since its first flight in two days, on April 19. On February 18, 2023, the helicopter and rover celebrated two years on the Red Planet.

According to Ingenuity project manager Teddy Tzanetos, the drone flew 1250% more missions than planned. It was in the air for 89 minutes in 50 missions and covered 11.6km. It managed to exceed the expected flight distance by 2214%.

Source: NASA