--- title: "NASA Mars Helicopter Flies Super High, Spots Rover Way Down on Ground" description: "NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity has embarked on its 11th flight on the Red Planet's surface, flying to record heights, reaching altitues of almost 40 feet." date: "2021-08-13" modified: "2021-08-13" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-mars-helicopter-flies-super-high-spots-rover-way-down-on-ground" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Mars" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "ingenuity" - "JPL" - "NASA" - "perseverance" - "the digest" --- # NASA Mars Helicopter Flies Super High, Spots Rover Way Down on Ground ![NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity has embarked on its 11th flight on the Red Planet's surface, flying to record heights, reaching altitues of almost 40 feet.]() *\Image: NASA/Futurism\* ## Going Higher NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity [embarked on its 11th flight]() on the Red Planet's surface on August 4, flying to record heights. The four-pound rotorcraft's latest excursion demonstrates that it's aced its [recent transition]() from a mere technological demonstration to a fully fledged scientific endeavor — and, while it was at it, it snapped an absolutely gorgeous photo. ## Where's Percy During the flight, Ingenuity flew to an altitude of 39 feet, allowing it to spot the space agency's far bigger Perseverance rover from high up. The images are helping the team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab decide where to drive the rover next, but the engineers also had a bit of fun with the latest shots. "Ingenuity’s aerial images are awesome — but even better when you get to play ‘Where’s Perseverance?’ with them," said deputy mission manager for the Perseverance Robert Hogg in a [NASA statement](). "Once you find our rover and zoom in, you can make out some details, like the wheels, remote sensing mast, and the \[Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator\] on the aft end." ![]() And indeed Perseverance can be spotted as a tiny speck in the top center of a new image, taken by Ingenuity from 1,600 feet away. The helicopter's 11th flight allowed it to keep ahead of Perseverance and make sure it is headed in the right direction. Ingenuity keeps breaking its own records — and we can't wait for [its legacy]() to go even further. **READ MORE:** [NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Spots Perseverance Rover From Above – Can You See It?]() \[NASA\] **More on Ingenuity:** *[NASA Is Already Working on a Bigger, Better Mars Helicopter]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()