First Flight On Mars

On April 19, NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter became the first aircraft to fly on another planet.

Our most recent package details the historic first flight of the 4-lb. robotic rotorcraft, which lasted 39.1 seconds, and its follow-up venture on April 22, and looks ahead to its future test program. The technology lays the groundwork for aerial exploration of Mars, an aeronautical feat given the air density of Mars is less than 1% of the density on Earth. See below for more.

“How do we use aerial mobility in the future on Mars, to help not just robotic exploration, but to help human exploration?”
Ellen Stofan
Smithsonian
Jun 21, 2022
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Safety of Air Navigation in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA) and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), have have signed a new agreement concerning the project to develop, deploy and commission ASECNA’s Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS).
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Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.