The US space agency will attempt to make flight history on Mars 118 years after humans first flew on Earth.
Ingenuity carries a piece of fabric under a solar panel that came from the Wright Brothers’ plane.
You’ve likely heard of NASA’s Mars rovers but how about a Mars helicopter? The latest rover mission carried the Ingenuity Mars helicopter to the red planet and NASA hopes to fly it as soon as April 8.
In tribute to human’s first flight here on Earth, Ingenuity has a tiny piece of fabric on board from the plane the Wright Brothers flew in 1903.
If Ingenuity is successful, this will be the first ‘known’ aircraft to fly on another planet. Carmen Roberts. Fox News.
NASA says flying in a controlled manner on Mars is far more difficult than flying on Earth. The Red Planet’s gravity is about one-third that of Earth’s and its atmosphere is just 1% as dense. Plus temperatures are far lower, especially at night when they can drop as low as minus 130 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 90 degrees Celsius), which can freeze and crack unprotected electrical components.