Watch the Mars helicopter Ingenuity take a record-breaking flight in daring NASA video

For the 20th time on Mars, ingenuity soars. Take a look at flight imagery.

May 25: Phoenix Spacecraft Lands on Mars.

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NASA has just released new footage of its helicopter Ingenuity on a record-breaking flight on the Red Planet.

The Mars helicopter Ingenuity video, which was taken April 8 but released May 27, shows the tiny Red Planet chopper as it flew across a distance of 2,310 feet (704 meters) at a speed of 12 mph (19 kph).

For our record-breaking flight, Ingenuity's downward-looking navigation camera provided us with a breathtaking sense of what it would feel like.

The footage dates back to Ingenuity's 25th flight, when it flew faster and further than ever before with a maximum altitude of 33 feet (10 meters).

The Ingenuity helicopter is still on Mars a year later.

Ingenuity sends its data to the Perseverance rover, which then passes the information on to a passing Mars orbiter. Data is transmitted from Mars to the Deep Space Network on Earth.

Since videos are larger than images, it takes a while to send stuff via interplanetary networks, and operational data must come first on missions, that likely accounts for some of the delay in receiving the footage.

JPL said the video clip starts about a second into the flight. The helicopter moves southwest to hit its maximum speed in three seconds.

JPL said that the helicopter first flies over a group of sand ripples and then several rock fields.

The total flight time was sped up five times. When the helicopter is three feet from the surface, the navigation camera must be turned off to avoid any dust interfering with the navigation system.

JPL said that Ingenuity is currently recovering from a communications glitch and should be ready soon to attempt a 29th excursion above the surface.

JPL stated that the team is looking forward to its next flight on Mars now that the rotorcraft is back in contact and getting adequate energy from its solar array to charge its six lithium-ion batteries.

The little helicopter has increased its initial five-flight manifest by almost sixfold and is well into an extended mission as it accompanies the Perseverance life-seeking rover. The helicopter and Rover landed in Jezero Crater.

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