NASA's Ingenuity helicopter sets new speed record during third flight on Mars

In its third-ever attempt at leaving the surface of Mars, NASA's tiny test helicopter traveled farther and faster than it ever has before — even in testing on Earth. The historic moment came just days after its second journey.   

The Ingenuity helicopter broke several records on Sunday morning, rising 16 feet into the air before flying about 164 feet, just over half the length of a football field, at a top speed of about 4.5 miles per hour — up from about 1.1 miles per hour during previous flights last week.  "While that number may not seem like a lot, consider that we never moved laterally more than about two-pencil lengths when we flight-tested in the vacuum chamber here on Earth," Håvard Grip, Ingenuity Mars helicopter chief pilot at JPL, said ahead of the historic flight. He said the helicopter is finally able to "experience freedom in the sky."