NASA captures record breaking helicopter flight on the surface of Mars

NASA has recently debuted a new video of its helicopter making a record flight across the Red Planet's surface.

NASA has taken to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory YouTube channel to post a video of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter making its 25th flight. The flight occurred on April 8, 2022, and marked the longest and fastest flight Ingenuity has taken yet, covering an astonishing 2,310 feet at a max speed of 12 mph. Notably, the above video showcases sped-up footage of the 161.3-second flight, where the helicopter first reaches an altitude of 33 feet before beginning its flight.

Furthermore, NASA explains that once Ingenuity reaches its designated altitude, it turns southwest and begins to increase its speed. Checking NASA's flight logs on its website, we can see that Ingenuity has since taken many three more flights, all of which weren't as fast or as far as the flight that occurred on April 8. It should be noted that NASA only expected Ingenuity to fly a total of five times, as the helicopter was merely a technology demonstration.