Nasa’s Mars helicopter is getting an extra month of flying.
Instead of wrapping up flight tests at the beginning of May, Nasa is giving its Ingenuity helicopter at least an extra month to tackle tough new terrain and serve as a scout for its companion rover, Perseverance.
Officials announced the flight extension on Friday, following three successful flights in under two weeks for the 85 million dollar (£61 million) tech demo.
Ingenuity made its fourth flight on Friday afternoon, travelling 872 feet at a height of 16 feet for two minutes — considerably farther and longer than before. An attempt on Thursday had failed because of a known software error.