NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter completes 50th flight over Mars

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter completed its 50th flight over Martian deserts on April 13.

The helicopter travelled over 1,057.09 feet (322.2 meters) in 145.7 seconds and has been making regular flights around Mars as it continues its search for life.

Ingenuity landed on Mars in February 2021 and will soon commemorate the second anniversary of its first flight, which took place on April 19, 2021.

Its 50th flight is quite an achievement, as NASA did not expect it to fly more than five times. Moreover, it was the first time a controlled flight on another planet occurred.

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The helicopter's performance and collected data will help engineers make more of these machines.

In a statement, Lori Gaze, the director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said, "Just as the Wright brothers continued their experiments well after that momentous day at Kitty Hawk in 1903, the Ingenuity team continues to pursue and learn from the flight operations of the first aircraft on another world."

Below is recent footage of the Ingenuity helicopter's 47th flight shared by NASA.