After NASA’s helicopter completes 12 flights on Mars, the US space agency extends mission indefinitely

NASA’s helicopter on Mars, Ingenuity was supposed to make only five flights on the planet. However, in an unexpected turn of events, even after 12 flights, the tiny helicopter is showing no signs of stopping. This rather surprising success has led the US space agency to extend its mission indefinitely. Over time, the helicopter Ingenuity has become a regular travel companion of rover Perseverance. The core mission of the latter is to detect signs of ancient life on planet Mars.

Josh Ravich, who is the head of Ingenuity's mechanical engineering team talked about the development. He revealed that they have been doing much better than they had expected. "Everything is working so well. We're doing better on the surface than we had expected," Ravich said. Ravich further revealed that he had his doubts about the mission. "When I got the opportunity to come work on the helicopter project, I think I had the same reaction as anybody else: 'Is that even possible?” Ravich’s doubts were valid given that the density of the air on the Red Planet is equivalent to only one percent of that of the earth’s atmosphere. 

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Explaining the longevity of the four-pound copter, Ravich said, "The environment has been very cooperative so far: the temperatures, the wind, the sun, the dust in the air... It's still very cold, but it could have been a lot worse.” He also shared that the upcoming Martian winters will be challenging for the little drone-like helicopter. 

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Ingenuity took its maiden flight on Mars on April 19th this year, marking the first controlled and powered flight to be taken by an aircraft over the surface of another planet. After about six months, the little helicopter has gained quite the following on the internet and has been featured on coffee cups and t-shirts.  

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