WATCH: NASA shares images of first successful helicopter flight on Mars Ground controllers had to wait more than three excruciating hours before learning whether the pre-programmed flight was a success. Author: MARCIA DUNN (AP Aerospace Writer) Published: 5:32 AM EDT April 19, 2021 Updated: 8:57 AM EDT April 19, 2021 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 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.