So a helicopter flew on Mars for the first time. A space physicist explains why that's such a big deal
- Written by Gail Iles, Senior Lecturer in Physics, RMIT University
Yesterday at 9pm Australian Eastern standard time, the Ingenuity helicopter — which landed on Mars with the Perseverance rover in February — took off from the Martian surface. More importantly, it hovered for about 30 seconds, three metres above the surface and came right back down again.
It may not sound like a huge feat, but it is....





