【Chris Cassidy Archives】

Another day,Chris Cassidy Archives another successful flight test for NASA's Mars Ingenuity helicopter. In fact, the mission has been sosuccessful that it's going to be extended.

For Ingenuity's fourth flight test, out of an originally planned five, the four-pound remote-controlled aircraft traveled almost 900 feet at 8 miles per hour, a trip that took just shy of two minutes to complete. Like the previous test, it flew at a height of 16.5 feet.

The distance and speed are roughly double where we were when Ingenuity's third flight test unfolded on April 25. It's notable because the fourth test opened things up intentionally, after the third test left NASA satisfied that its goal with these tests — to measure the viability of aerial exploration on Mars — had been achieved.

"The Ingenuity technology demonstration has been a resounding success," NASA's Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the agency's Science Mission Directorate, said in a NASA blog post ahead of the fourth test.

"Since Ingenuity remains in excellent health, we plan to use it to benefit future aerial platforms while prioritizing and moving forward with the Perseverance rover team’s near-term science goals."

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

That means NASA is extending Ingenuity's mission while allowing the Perseverance rover — which has been observing the flight tests from a distance — to continue its other work. The rover will now proceed with investigating its Jezero Crater landing site for signs of past life on Mars.

As for Ingenuity, the fifth and final test in its originally planned slate will be a one-way trip, unlike the previous flights. Assuming it remains technically sound and functional after that, the helicopter will conduct its subsequent flights from the new landing site.

It will still be operating fairly close to where Perseverance is doing its own work, and the coming batch of tests could support or enhance that work. NASA notes that Ingenuity could observe the same locations the rover is investigating from a higher perch, scout out future routes, and investigate areas that wouldn't be reachable by a ground-based vehicle. All of these possibilities are characterized as "bonus" work; it won't disrupt Perseverance, but it should help NASA with its future Mars exploration plans.

A view of Ingenuity (the little dark speck just above the horizon  line in the center of the image), as seen by the Perseverance rover. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

"We have so appreciated the support provided by the Perseverance rover team during our technology demonstration phase,” NASA's MiMi Aung, an Ingenuity project manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). "Now we have a chance to pay it forward, demonstrating for future robotic and even crewed missions the benefits of having a partner nearby that can provide a different perspective – one from the sky. We are going to take this opportunity and run with it – and fly with it."

Avid followers of NASA's Mars exploration efforts should expect the pace of Ingenuity's flights to slow down "to about once every two or three weeks" as it moves into a second phase of testing. Ingenuity's team will take another look at how the flight tests are proceeding after 30 sols, or Mars days, with all fights to be completed by the end of August.

The timing actually matters here because of how planets move through our solar system. Starting in mid-October, Earth and Mars will be situated on opposite sides of the sun, effectively blocking NASA's ability to communicate with its remote-controlled vehicles.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

• Science
• Life
• Social Good
• Tech
• Entertainment
• Digital Culture
• Games
• Shopping

• Best soundbar deal: Save $300 on the Sonos Arc
• This kickass feminist activity book is made for activist girls
• LGBTQ youth need a proper sex education, too
• Why Season 22 of 'South Park feels like a total game
• Best grocery deal: Spend $20 and get $5 off at Amazon
• President Obama got pumped up for his DNC speech to Eminem's 'Lose Yourself'
• Your Facebook activity influences what appears in your Instagram feed
• Noted feminist Barack Obama challenges men to fight sexism
• NYT Connections hints and answers for April 26: Tips to solve 'Connections' #685.
• Google's Mark Risher: We've never abused your 2FA data

• No Mothers, No Daughters
• Brand on the Run
• The Swamp Thickens
• The Cambridge Analytica Con
• We Were Supposed to Accomplish Something
• Dendrophile Diplomacy
• The Book of No Despair
• This Could Revolutionize That
• Man Out of Time
• Nanny State of Mind

• Productivity Boost: Enable 'Night Mode' on All Your Devices
• 'Overcooked' for two is the date night you deserve this weekend
• The Rio Olympics are rife with problems and potential disasters
• Watch as Florida man gets rare look inside Hurricane Michael's eye
• Ireland fines TikTok $600 million for sharing user data with China
• Tilda Swinton as an 80
• Facebook now says 30 million affected by hack, will notify users
• Google's Mark Risher: We've never abused your 2FA data
• Best rope light deal: Save 25% on Lepro N1 AI Smart RGB LED Strip Lights
• Amazon's sexist recruiting algorithm reflects a larger gender bias

• Apple iPhone 17 Pro leaks highlight major new design change
• The Razer Blade 15 Dual Storage edition has a hybrid HDD/SSD drive
• Google mocks cryptocurrency as 'not real' in Call Screen ad
• Fox News calls Jamie Lee Curtis a hypocrite for using guns in films
• Operation Mensch
• 17 miniature gifts that will make you wish everything was tiny
• Hands on with the Razer Phone 2, a smartphone for 'Fortnite' addicts
• YouTube gives the boot to Partners who post 'duplicative content'
• 4GHz CPU Battle: AMD 2nd
• Photos taken after rocket failure prove spaceflight is never routine