Nasa successfully flies small helicopter on Mars

NASA s Ingenuity helicopter has made a historic flight on Mars_ marking the first powered aircraft on another planet.

 Altimeter data confirms that Ingenuity has performed its first flight_ the first flight of a powered aircraft on another planet_ said the helicopter s chief pilot back on Earth_ Havard Grip_ his voice breaking as his teammates erupted in cheers.

Flight controllers in California confirmed Ingenuity s brief hop after receiving data via the Perseverance rover_ which stood guard more than 200 feet (65 metres) away.

Ingenuity hitched a ride to Mars on Perseverance_ clinging to the rover s belly upon their arrival in an ancient river delta in February.

The $85m helicopter demo was considered a high risk_ yet high reward.

 Each world gets only one first flight_ project manager MiMi Aung noted earlier this month.

Speaking on a NASA webcast early on Monday_ she called it the  ultimate dream .

Aung and her team had to wait more than three excruciating hours before learning whether the pre-programmed flight had succeeded 287 million kilometres (178 million miles) away.

Adding to their anxiety was a software error that prevented the helicopter from lifting off a week earlier and had engineers scrambling to come up with a fix.

Applause_ cheers and laughter erupted in the operations centre when success was finally declared.

More followed when the first black and white photo from Ingenuity appeared on their screens_ showing its shadow as it hovered above the surface of Mars.

Next came the stunning colour images of the helicopter descending back to the surface_ taken by Perseverance_  the best host little Ingenuity could ever hope for _ Aung said.