NASA's Mars Ingenuity Helicopter Successfully Launches First Flight On the Red Planet ✖ NASA's Mars Ingenuity helicopter made history today, by completing the first-ever successful powered controlled flight on another planet. The milestone was reported by NASA after reviewing data at the Space Flight Operations Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) outside of Los Angeles. According to the data, the Ingenuity helicopter executed its flight on Mars by ascending to approximately 10ft (or three meters) above the surface of Mars, before landing again on the Red Planet. The Ingenuity helicopter is four pounds with a 1.2 meter wingspan. It's powered by batteries charged by solar panels on its top, which allows for about 90 seconds of flight at full power.