NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter flies autonomously on Mars Climbing to maximum altitude of 10ft (3m), it hovered, then touched down on the surface after logging 39.1 seconds of flight. NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter became the first aircraft in history to make a powered, controlled flight on another planet. The Ingenuity team at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California confirmed the flight succeeded after receiving data from the helicopter via NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover at 6:46 a.m. EDT April 19, 2021. Acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk said, “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.”