Life on Mars: NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter aces ninth fight

In its longest flight yet, the plucky helicopter buzzed around the Seitah region of Mars, snapping pictures of rock formations and other intriguing targets to help in NASA’s search for microbial life.

NASA’s Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, is proving to be quite the little explorer. The small rotorcraft just completed its ninth flight on the Red Planet, breaking speed and distance records along the way. Although the United States space agency hasn’t shared all the details from the latest flight, the team has confirmed that the plucky little chopper has tackled what the agency says is its “most nerve-wracking” flight to date. The tiny helicopter was airborne for a record 166.4 seconds (2 minutes and 46.4 seconds), and flew at speeds of 5m (16 feet) per second, according to mission officials.