The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) has released more details about the first ever flight by a human-built aircraft on another planet. The aircraft, an autonomous drone helicopter designated Ingenuity, made its maiden flight, on Mars, on Monday. That flight lasted a total of 39.1 seconds and the machine reached a pre-programmed maximum altitude of 3 m. It maintained stable hover for 30 seconds.

Ingenuity is a 49 cm high, 1.8 kg mass, technology demonstrator, intended to establish whether or not aircraft can operate in the very thin Martian atmosphere (the surface pressure of which is only 1% of the surface pressure of Earth’s atmosphere). As such, it carries no scientific sensors. 

The little helicopter and its control algorithms were developed by a dedicated team at Nasa’s famed Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California. It has to be autonomous because of the time lag in sending and receiving signals between Earth and Mars – these are relayed via Nasa’s Deep Space Network on Earth and satellites orbiting Mars. 

“The Mars Helicopter project has gone from ‘blue sky’ feasibility study to workable engineering concept to achieving the first flight on another world in a little over six years,” highlighted JPL director Michael Watkins. “That this project has achieved such a historic first is testimony to the innovation and doggedness of our team here at JPL, as well as Nasa’s Langley and Ames Research Centres, and our industry partners. It’s a shining example of the kind of technology push that thrives at JPL and fits well with Nasa’s exploration goals.”

“We have been thinking for so long about having our Wright bothers moment on Mars, and here it is,” enthused JPL Ingenuity Mars Helicopter project manager MiMi Aung. “We will take a moment to celebrate our success and then take a cue from Orville and Wilbur regarding what to do next. History shows they got back to work – to learn as much as they could about their new aircraft – and so will we.”

(The Wright brothers, who were bicycle makers by trade, developed and flew the world’s first successful, powered, controlled, heavier-than-air flying machine, back in December 1903. The first flight of that aeroplane lasted just 12 seconds.)

“Now, 117 years after the Wright brothers succeeded in making the first flight on our planet, Nasa’s Ingenuity helicopter has succeeded in performing this amazing feat on another world,” pointed out Nasa associate administrator for science Thomas Zurbuchen. “While these two iconic moments in aviation history may be separated by time and 173 million miles of space, they will now forever be linked. As an homage to the two innovative bicycle makers from Dayton, this first of many airfields on other worlds will now be known as Wright Brothers Field, in recognition of the ingenuity and innovation that continue to propel exploration.”