The first powered, controlled flight on another planet took place last year as the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter lifted off, and a relic of the historic first flights by the Wright Brothers on the Outer Banks was along for a ride.
A small piece of material that covered the wing of the aircraft, Flyer 1, that made four flights on Dec. 17, 1903 at Big Kill Devil Hill is onboard the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which took its first successful flight on April 19, 2021, and has flown a total of 18 times so far.
Bob Balaram, Principal Member of Staff at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is the originator of the concept that became the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars. He served as its Chief Engineer during its development, test and operations.
Balaram has also served as the Initiative Lead for a Strategic Research and Technology Development effort to develop science helicopters on Mars as a follow-up to the success of Ingenuity.
The connection with the Wright Brothers led Balaram to make a pilgrimage to the place where aviation began on our planet.
He joined us by phone on February 1 after making his first visit to the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, shared the story of Ingenuity, and more about his time here on the Outer Banks: