Two new flight records have been set by NASA's space helicopter.
The helicopter flew a distance of 2,324.2 feet (708.6 meters) during its most ambitious flight to date.
It hit 12.3 mph (0.5 m/s) and beat its previous record by 1.3 mph.
The mission team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory waited until Tuesday to share the news of Ingenuity's record-breaking flight, which took place on Friday, April 8.
Ingenuity was the first aircraft to achieve powered, controlled flight on another planet. The Perseverance rover arrived at the martian surface with a flying machine that was meant to test Ingenuity, as well as collect rock samples for future return to Earth, and gather data for upcoming crewed missions.
The 25th helicopter flight takes Ingenuity closer to its next destination, a delta inside the Jezero Crater that could contain evidence of ancient life. The Perseverance rover is carrying a suite of tools with it as it heads to the same place.
Ingenuity's latest flight was set up in such a way as to avoid flying over hardware that was discarded by Perseverance when the rover reached the planet.
NASA's first space helicopter has performed way beyond expectations, giving engineers the confidence to consider building a more advanced flying machine for future missions. With its ability to fly at low altitudes, such a machine can use onboard cameras to build detailed maps, as well as search for the safest and most efficient routes for ground-based rovers to take.
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