NASA's helicopter completes 48 flights on Mars

NASA's Mars helicopter has completed 48 flights on the Red Planet, according to the agency, reported Xinhua.

The 48th flight was completed this Tuesday, in which the rotorcraft reached an altitude of 12 meters and traveled 398 meters for 149.9 seconds, according to NASA.

The helicopter, named Ingenuity, arrived at Mars' Jezero Crater on Feb. 18 of 2021, attached to the belly of NASA's Perseverance rover. The helicopter is a technology demonstration to test powered flight on another planet for the first time.

The helicopter was designed to fly for up to 90 seconds, to distances of almost 300 meters at a time and about 3 to 4.5 meters from the ground, according to NASA.