NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter goes faster, higher on 49th flight

Washington: The Ingenuity Mars helicopter has flown faster and higher than it ever had before on its 49th flight on the Red Planet.

On April 2, the mini chopper reached a top speed of 23.3 kph and scaled a maximum altitude of 16 metres, according to the mission's flight log. The previous records were 21.6 kph and 14 m, respectively.

"Two new records for the #MarsHelicopter!' NASA JPL wrote on Twitter.

"Ingenuity successfully completed Flight 49, setting a new flight speed record of 14.5 mph (6.5 m/s) and an altitude record of 52.5 ft (16 metres)," it added.

Ingenuity helicopter landed with NASA's Perseverance rover on the floor of Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021. It became the first rotorcraft ever to make powered flight beyond Earth.

Weighing just 1.8 kilograms, it has proved that aerial exploration is possible on Mars despite the planet's thin atmosphere.

It was originally tasked with only five test flights to prove its pioneering technology, but it has exceeded NASA's expectations.

Over the course of its 49 Mars flights to date, Ingenuity has stayed aloft for a total of 86.7 minutes and covered 11.224 km of Red Planet ground, according to the flight log. Perseverance's odometer, meanwhile, currently reads 17.17 km.