See the photo from the first-ever helicopter flight on Mars, showing the planet's surface and the Ingenuity drone's shadow

Morgan McFall-Johnsen
·2 min read
ingenuity mars helicopter first flight photo black white shadow
Ingenuity snapped this photo of its shadow on the ground below as it flew on Mars for the first time, April 19, 2021. NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter flew on Mars for the first time early Monday, making spaceflight history and proving that aerial exploration is possible on other planets.

During the flight, it took the photo above, showing the surface of Mars and its own shadow.

This was the first powered controlled flight ever conducted on another planet. As the 4-pound space drone rose 10 feet above the Martian surface, hovered for 30 seconds, and descended back down, a black-and-white navigation camera on its belly snapped the photo. Ingenuity's shadow is clear as day in the Mars dust.

"Oh my god, it's real!" MiMi Aung, Ingenuity project manager, exclaimed as NASA mission control downloaded the photo.

"Everybody's really feeling it now," Taryn Bailey, a mechanical engineer for the helicopter, told a NASA commentator on the agency's livestream.

From a nearby overlook, the Perseverance rover, which carried Ingenuity to Mars, captured its own stunning images of the flight. Over the next few hours and days, NASA expects to get video footage from both Perseverance and Ingenuity's color camera.

NASA Perseverance
The Perseverance rover captured a "selfie" with Ingenuity before driving to an overlook to watch the helicopter fly. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Seán Doran

"We can now say that human beings have flown a rotorcraft on another planet," Aung told the helicopter team at NASA mission control. "We've been talking so long about our Wright brothers moment on Mars, and here it is."

Ingenuity is a technology demonstration, meant to prove that rotorcraft flight could work on Mars. On Monday it succeeded, but its mission isn't over yet. Ingenuity will attempt up to four more flights of increasing difficulty over the next month, venturing higher and further each time.

Space helicopters similar to Ingenuity could someday explore canyons and mountains, study large regions faster than a rover can, or even do reconnaissance for future astronauts.

"I'm sure our community will look at any and all options to bring controlled flight to bear as a tool of research and exploration," NASA Associate Administrator Thomas Zurbuchen told Insider ahead of Ingenuity's flight. "I'm sure they'll think of aspects that I cannot think of right now."

Read the original article on Business Insider

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