Mars Ingenuity helicopter chalks up record flight as NASA extends its mission

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter, grounded Thursday by a pesky-but-understood software issue, successfully completed its fourth flight in the ultra-thin atmosphere of Mars Friday, kicking off a new phase of extended science operations for the $80 million drone.

"Ingenuity successfully completed its fourth flight today, and we couldn't be happier," project manager MiMi Aung said in an on-line status report. "We have lots of data to analyze. Ingenuity's performance on Mars has been letter-perfect. This is an amazing time for our entire team!" Data from the helicopter, relayed back to Earth via the Perseverance rover and one of NASA's Mars orbiters, confirmed the 4-pound helicopter took off from "Wright Brothers Field" in Jezero Crater around 10:49 a.m. EDT (12:33 p.m. local time on Mars).