Apr 19, 2021
In this image from NASA, NASA s experimental Mars helicopter Ingenuity lands on the surface of Mars Monday, April 19, 2021. The little 4-pound helicopter rose from the dusty red surface into the thin Martian air Monday, achieving the first powered, controlled flight on another planet. (NASA via AP)
By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) NASA’s experimental helicopter Ingenuity rose into the thin air above the dusty red surface of Mars on Monday, achieving the first powered flight by an aircraft on another planet.
The triumph was hailed as a Wright Brothers moment. The mini 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) copter even carried a bit of wing fabric from the 1903 Wright Flyer, which made similar history at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
NASA helicopter rises above Martian surface in first powered flight on another planet Published 5 hours ago
In this image from NASA, NASA s experimental Mars helicopter Ingenuity hovers above the surface of Mars Monday, April 19, 2021. The little 4-pound helicopter rose from the dusty red surface into the thin Martian air Monday, achieving the first powered, controlled flight on another planet. (NASA via AP)
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Print article CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. NASA’s experimental helicopter Ingenuity rose into the thin air above the dusty red surface of Mars on Monday, achieving the first powered flight by an aircraft on another planet.
The tears came quickly Monday for Tracy Punsel as she watched the morning news.
While the Cambridge woman slept, Ingenuity, the helicopter on Mars that holds a computer chip developed in part by her late brother, lifted off from the Martian surface.
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The 39-second flight by NASA s experimental helicopter marked the first powered flight by an aircraft on another planet. Hailed as a Wright Brothers moment, the 4-pound aircraft carried a bit of wing fabric from the Wright Flyer that made similar history at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903. Altimeter data confirms that Ingenuity has performed its first flight, the first flight of a powered aircraft on another planet, said the helicopter s chief pilot back on Earth, Havard Grip, his voice breaking as his teammates erupted in applause.
BBC Science Focus Magazine
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The small helicopter successfully took flight on the Red Planet on Monday, hovering in the air at about three metres, before descending and touching back down on the Martian surface.
The news was met by applause mission control, with Ingenuity’s chief pilot Håvard Grip announcing: “Ingenuity has performed its first flight – the first flight of a powered aircraft on another planet,” and this message was met by cheers and applause at mission control.
“We can now say that human beings have flown a rotorcraft on another planet,” said MiMi Aung, Ingenuity Mars Helicopter project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). “We’ve been talking for so long about our Wright brothers moment. And here it is.”
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The Associated Press
NASA’s experimental helicopter Ingenuity rose into the thin air above the dusty red surface of Mars on Monday, achieving the first powered flight by an aircraft on another planet.
The triumph was hailed as a Wright brothers moment. The mini 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) copter even carried a bit of wing fabric from the Wright Flyer that made similar history at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903.