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Images and Video Show NASA's Helicopter Flying in ‘Wright Brothers Moment' on Mars

By Michael Sheetz, CNBC • •

NASA/JPL-Caltech

The shadow of NASA’s Ingenuity is seen on the surface of Mars as the helicopter hovered during its first flight on April 19, 2021.

  • NASA successfully conducted the first flight of an aircraft on another planet.
  • Helicopter Ingenuity flew for 39 seconds above the Martian surface.
  • NASA rover Perseverance captured imagery of the flight after rolling a short distance away, with one of its navigation cameras showing a sequence before, during and after the helicopter's flight.

Here's a look at NASA's historic flight of an aircraft on Mars, a feat the space agency called a "Wright brothers moment."

NASA rover Perseverance captured imagery of the flight after rolling a short distance away, with one of its navigation cameras showing a sequence before, during and after the helicopter's flight.

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NASA/JPL-Caltech
Video from NASA rover Perseverance shows helicopter Ingenuity spinning up its rovers, hovering, and then landing on Mars.

Ingenuity, which weighs 4 pounds, successfully flew autonomously for 39 seconds.

NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA's Perseverance rover captured helicopter Ingenuity on the surface of Mars on April 18, 2021 before its first flight.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
A camera on NASA's Perseverance rover shows helicopter Ingenuity flying above the surface of Mars on April 19, 2021.
A camera on NASA's Perseverance rover shows helicopter Ingenuity flying above the surface of Mars on April 19, 2021.
NASA helicopter Ingenuity back on the surface of Mars after its first flight on April 19, 2021, captured by a camera on the Perseverance rover.

NASA announced after the flight that the area on Mars' Jezero Crater where Ingenuity flew will be known as Wright Brothers Field.

NASA/JPL-Caltech
Scientists and engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California work with Ingenuity during its development, a years-long process that was aided by some of the agency's experts in rotor dynamics.

The helicopter stands just over 19 inches tall, and was delivered to the surface of Mars by NASA's rover Perseverance.

NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Perseverance rover, with the Ingenuity helicopter visible attached underneath, prepared for launch.

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