Home » NASA Announces Mars Helicopter Achieves ‘Big Milestone’ on Flight to Big Red Planet

NASA Announces Mars Helicopter Achieves ‘Big Milestone’ on Flight to Big Red Planet

By  //  August 18, 2020

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share on Delicious Digg This Stumble This

rover's power supply brought the rotorcraft's batteries to a charge of 35%

So far, so good for the small helicopter that is poised to become the first to fly in outer space. NASA announced that the Mars Ingenuity helicopter is alive and well and was successfully recharged while in mid-spaceflight. (NASA image)

(CBS) – So far, so good for the small helicopter that is poised to become the first to fly in outer space.

NASA announced that the Mars Ingenuity helicopter is alive and well and was successfully recharged while in mid-spaceflight.

Ingenuity is currently positioned in the belly of the Perseverance rover, which launched last month on a historic mission to the red planet. NASA announced that the rover’s power supply successfully brought the rotorcraft’s six lithium-ion batteries to a charge of 35% — the optimal level to keep the batteries healthy during the cruise to Mars.

“This was a big milestone, as it was our first opportunity to turn on Ingenuity and give its electronics a ‘test drive’ since we launched on July 30,” said Tim Canham, the operations lead for Mars Helicopter.

CLICK HERE to see the full story on CBSNews.com>>>

Weather Conditions Show 80-Percent Chance ‘Go’ for Tuesday’s SpaceX Rocket Launch From Cape CanaveralRelated Story:
Weather Conditions Show 80-Percent Chance ‘Go’ for Tuesday’s SpaceX Rocket Launch From Cape Canaveral