Ingenuity was the first robot to perform a controlled flight on another planet.
NASA’s small helicopter arrived on Mars attached to the Perseverance rover. On 19 April 2021, Ingenuity rose about three meters above the Martian surface and hovered for roughly 39 seconds. The flight took place at Wright Brothers Field in Jezero Crater.
The demonstration was designed as a technology test, because Mars has a very thin atmosphere and communication delays prevent pilots from controlling a flight in real time. Ingenuity therefore used onboard computers, cameras, and autonomous navigation to stabilize itself.
NASA planned only a handful of flights, but Ingenuity completed many more than expected. Its achievement was different from the earlier success of a rover: it demonstrated powered, controlled flight in the atmosphere of another planet.