海角大神

NASA鈥檚 experimental helicopter Ingenuity rose into the thin air above the dusty red surface of Mars on Monday, achieving the first powered flight by an aircraft on another planet.

The triumph was hailed as a Wright brothers moment. The mini 4-pound copter even carried a bit of wing fabric from the Wright Flyer that made similar history at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903.

It was a brief hop 鈥� just 39 seconds and 10 feet 鈥� but accomplished all the major milestones.

鈥淕oosebumps. It looks just the way we had tested,鈥� project manager MiMi Aung said as she watched the flight video during a later briefing. 鈥淎bsolutely beautiful flight. I don鈥檛 think I can ever stop watching it over and over again.鈥�

Flight controllers at NASA鈥檚 Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California declared success after receiving the data and images via the Perseverance rover. Ingenuity hitched a ride to Mars on Perseverance, clinging to the rover鈥檚 belly when it touched down in an ancient river delta in February.

The $85 million helicopter demo was considered high risk, yet high reward.

Scientists cheered the news from around the world, even from space, and the White House offered its congratulations.

鈥淎 whole new way to explore the alien terrain in our solar system is now at our disposal,鈥� Nottingham Trent University astronomer Daniel Brown said from England.

This first test flight 鈥� with more to come by Ingenuity, the next as soon as Thursday 鈥� holds great promise, Mr. Brown noted. Future helicopters could serve as scouts for rovers, and eventually astronauts, in difficult, dangerous places.

Ingenuity has provided a third dimension to planetary exploration and 鈥渇reed us from the surface now forever,鈥� said JPL director, Michael Watkins.

Ground controllers had to wait more than three excruciating hours before learning whether the preprogrammed flight had succeeded 178 million miles away. The first attempt had been delayed a week because of a software error.

When the news finally came, the operations center filled with applause, cheers, and laughter. More followed when the first black and white photo from Ingenuity appeared, showing the helicopter鈥檚 shadow as it hovered above the surface of Mars.

鈥淭he shadow of greatness, #MarsHelicopter first flight on another world complete!鈥� NASA astronaut Victor Glover tweeted from the International Space Station.

Next came stunning of the copter鈥檚 clean landing, taken by Perseverance, 鈥渢he best host little Ingenuity could ever hope for,鈥� Ms. Aung said in thanking everyone.

The helicopter hovered for 30 seconds at its intended altitude of 10 feet, and spent 39 seconds airborne, more than three times longer than the first successful flight of the Wright Flyer, which lasted a mere 12 seconds on Dec. 17, 1903.

To accomplish all this, the helicopter鈥檚 twin, counter-rotating rotor blades needed to spin at 2,500 revolutions per minute 鈥� five times faster than on Earth. With an atmosphere just 1% the density of Earth鈥檚, engineers had to build a helicopter light enough 鈥� with blades spinning fast enough 鈥� to generate this otherworldly lift. The Martian wind was relatively gentle Monday: between 4 mph and 14 mph.

More than six years in the making, Ingenuity is just 19 inches tall, a spindly four-legged chopper. Its fuselage, containing all the batteries, heaters, and sensors, is the size of a tissue box. The carbon-fiber, foam-filled rotors are the biggest pieces: Each pair stretches 4 feet tip-to-tip.

Ingenuity also had to be sturdy enough to withstand the Martian wind, and is topped with a solar panel for recharging the batteries, crucial for surviving the minus-130 degree Fahrenheit Martian nights.

NASA chose a flat, relatively rock-free patch for Ingenuity鈥檚 airfield. Following Monday鈥檚 success, NASA named the area for the Wright brothers.

鈥淲hile these two iconic moments in aviation history may be separated by time and ... million miles of space, they now will forever be linked,鈥� NASA鈥檚 science missions chief Thomas Zurbuchen announced.

The little chopper with a giant job attracted attention from the moment it launched with Perseverance last July. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger joined in the fun, rooting for Ingenuity over the weekend. 鈥淕et to the chopper!鈥� he shouted in a tweeted video, a line from his 1987 sci-fi film 鈥淧redator.鈥�

Up to five increasingly ambitious flights are planned, and they could lead the way to a fleet of Martian drones in decades to come, providing aerial views, transporting packages, and serving as lookouts for human crews. On Earth, the technology could enable helicopters to reach new heights, doing things like more easily navigating the Himalayas.

Ingenuity鈥檚 team has until the beginning of May to complete the test flights so that the rover can get on with its main mission: collecting rock samples that could hold evidence of past Martian life, for return to Earth a decade from now.

The team plans to test the helicopter鈥檚 limits, possibly even wrecking the craft, leaving it to rest in place forever, having sent its data back home.

Until then, Perseverance will keep tabs on Ingenuity. Flight engineers affectionately call them Percy and Ginny.

鈥淏ig sister鈥檚 watching,鈥� said Malin Space Science Systems鈥� Elsa Jensen, the rover鈥檚 lead camera operator.

This story was reported by The Associated Press.