Mars helicopter sent on wild ride in first major in-flight problem

NASA’s Mars helicopter ended up taking an unexpected detour last week, it’s been revealed, after it experienced its first in-flight error on the Red Planet. Ingenuity encountered problems at 33 feet on Saturday, around a minute into its sixth test flight. The issue occurred after one of the pictures taken by the helicopter’s on-board camera failed to register in its navigation system, causing the aircraft to suddenly lurch in confusion. Despite the technical difficulties, officials at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory confirmed on Thursday that the helicopter did manage to land safely, within 16 feet of its intended landing point.