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NASA's Mars helicopter makes history with successful flight on Red Planet

NASA's miniature robot helicopter Ingenuity performed a successful takeoff and landing on Mars early on Monday.

Mission managers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) near Los Angeles burst into applause and cheers as engineering data beamed back from Mars confirmed that the 4-pound (1.8-kg) twin-rotor helicopter had performed its maiden 40-second flight as planned about three hours earlier.