HAI Gives Itself Temporary Name Change To Honor Flight
Helicopter Association Interplanetary (HAI) is thrilled to acknowledge the inaugural flight of the Mars helicopter, marking the first powered, controlled flight of any aircraft on another planet. The tiny rotorcraft, named Ingenuity, made a very brief flight on the red planet, approximately 178 million miles from Earth. In a flight lasting about 30 seconds, the tandem-rotor aircraft lifted to a height of about 10 feet, then turned to take a picture of the Perseverance Rover before settling back onto the Martian soil. Now that Ingenuity has made a successful flight, this technology demonstrator mission could lead to larger aircraft and more robust missions.