Mars helicopter Ingenuity aces 1st flight after software update

Mars helicopter Ingenuity aces 1st flight after software update

NASA’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity has executed its shortest-ever flight, the first just after a main software update that will allow for the minor chopper to land more safely and navigate over rugged terrain. 

Ingenuity‘s 34th flight, which took put on Tuesday (Nov. 22), lasted only 18 seconds and saw the helicopter briefly hover just after takeoff over Mars’ area just before landing just 16 ft (5 meters) away from its starting place. The flight, the 1st since Sept. 29, was the first test-out of a new program program that was beamed to Ingenuity from Earth to strengthen its capability to run in the rugged terrain that its parent Perseverance rover is at the moment discovering.