NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter lifts off on Mars

It was not your average remote-controlled drone flight. A few hours ago, in the middle of the martian daytime, Ingenuity, NASA’s $80 million small helicopter, furiously spun its rotors, rose in the air and hovered. It rotated and took a picture before alighting once again on the surface. The modest flight, lasting less than a minute, represents a major milestone: the first controlled flight of a powered aircraft on another planet.

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