NASA's Ingenuity helicopter performs test flight on Mars in rare footage

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter remains functional after a small technical malfunction on its 54th flight mission at the beginning of August, as evidenced by a 46-second test flight in a video released by the space agency on Saturday.

Designed to use its four-foot rotor wings to fly under the unique Martian conditions, the Ingenuity was originally only meant for five flights, a target it has exceeded ten-fold.

According to NASA, the helicopter activated its flight-contingency program which automatically lands the craft if a problem is detected in aerial conditions during its flight in early August. 

The test flight which followed was completed without any problems being detected and saw the craft hover at almost five meters above the surface before touching down as it was filmed by NASA’s Perseverance rover which searches the Martian surface alongside its smaller companion for signs of life-hospitable terrain.

“A key objective of Perserverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life,” NASA explained.

Nothing has been found, yet

Unfortunately, signs of life on Mars elude scientists who continue to hope that some form of primitive life will confirm the existence of extraterrestrial life.