Grand Admiral Thrawn's stock is on the rise in 2021. This iconic villain was recently name-dropped in The Mandalorian: Season 2, fueling new hopes he'll finally be making his live-action debut in Star Wars: Ahsoka or another spinoff series. But for now, fans eager for more of Thrawn's story should be looking to his creator, novelist Timothy Zahn. Zahn is continuing his latest Thrawn trilogy with the release of Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy Book II - Greater Good. The follow-up to 2020's Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising, this book sheds more light on Thrawn's life before he became the most accomplished military leader in the Galactic Empire. At this point, Thrawn is still a young, ambitious captain in the Chiss Ascendancy. As we saw in the first book, Thrawn has a knack for making enemies among his own people, even as he racks up victory after victory in this obscure corner of the galaxy. That flaw only grows worse in Book 2, as Thrawn and his allies work to uncover an enemy hellbent on dividing the Chiss ruling families and destroying this powerful empire from within. IGN can exclusively debut a new excerpt from Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good. You can either scroll down to read the text version or watch the video player above to hear a clip of the audiobook narrated by Marc Thompson. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=how-grand-admiral-thrawn-became-an-iconic-star-wars-villain&captions=true"] A little background info first - this passage focuses on Thrawn's colleague, Captain Lakinda, who also serves under Admiral Ar'alani. Lakinda is a member of a once proud Chiss house that's now fallen on hard times. That makes her desperate to prove her mettle in battle, which can be hard to do when Thrawn has a knack for hogging the spotlight. Naturally, these two Chiss don't get along very well. Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy Book II - Greater Good is published by Del Rey and is set for release on Tuesday, April 27. You can preorder the book on Amazon or various other retailers. Be sure to check out IGN's interview with Zahn to learn more about the challenge of reinventing Thrawn's origin story, and brush up on all the Star Wars projects in the works for 2021. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Double Fine has revealed that Psychonauts 2 is in a playable state and coming this year. While celebrating the original game’s 16th anniversary today, the Double Fine Twitter account also commented on the state of its forthcoming sequel. “Yes, Psychonauts 2 is this year,” the tweet begins, before explaining that a specific date can’t be shared at present, or the tweet’s author would suffer a 'mysterious cactus accident.' “But it is real. It is playable. It is coming,” the tweet ends.

And yes, Psychonauts 2 is this year and yes I've been mentioning that here and elsewhere for a while but no I can't tell you when because someone from THE COMPANY would arrange for a mysterious "cactus accident" to happen to me...

But it is real. It is playable. It is coming. — Double Fine (@DoubleFine) April 19, 2021

This will be great news for all Psychonauts fans who have been waiting patiently for a sequel for more than a decade now. The 2005 original is currently 50% off on Steam, if you’re yet to give Double Fine’s debut platformer a go. Psychonauts 2 was previously pegged to launch in 2019, and then 2020, before slipping to 2021 as per an Xbox Wire blog post in July 2020. Thankfully, it seems that won't be the case again. In other Psychonauts 2 news, you can check out our interview with Tim Schafer from December 2020, which also contains some exclusive artwork from the game. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is the milkman and his milk is delicious. Follow him on Twitter.

Microsoft has announced that the Xbox Cloud Gaming Limited Beta for Windows 10 PCs and Apple phones and tablets via web browsers will begin for select Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members tomorrow, April 20. As revealed on Xbox Wire, invites will be sent out tomorrow and those selected will be able to play over 100 Xbox Game Pass titles through Edge, Google Chrome, or Safari on Xbox.com/play. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-games-to-play-on-xbox-series-xs&captions=true"] This limited beta will be a "time to test and learn," and invites will be sent out on a "more continuous basis" to players in all 22 supported countries. The goal is to iterate quickly and give all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members this new way to play in the coming months. These games can be played with a compatible Bluetooth or USB-connected controller like the Backbone One or via custom touch controls for more than 50 games. The reason Xbox Cloud Gaming is only available via a web browser on iOS devices is due to Apple's restrictions on games that bypass the App Store via another app. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/06/13/hands-on-with-microsofts-xcloud-streaming-service-and-halo-5-e3-2019"] Xbox Cloud Gaming, which used to be called Project xCloud, has been available for Android devices for some time. Even in 2019, we were impressed with the tech behind this streaming service, and it has only improved since then. If you are looking forward to checking out Xbox Cloud Gaming, be sure to take a look at our guide for the best controllers for your smartphone. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Netflix’s Love, Death and Robots season two premiere is right around the corner — and season three isn’t too far behind.

The second volume of the anthology series will premiere with eight episodes on May 14. You can watch the trailer here. Netflix has also ordered a third season, which is set to premiere in 2022. Considering the first volume took years to complete, both Netflix and the creative team thought fans would benefit more from having eight episodes this year and eight more next year. The new season will combine ideals, aesthetics, and storytelling from both dystopian and utopian science fiction, as well as fantasy storytelling – a similar mix to what many fans first fell in love with during the anthology’s first season.

IGN caught up with creator Tim Miller and director Jennifer Yuh Nelson ahead of the announcement to talk about the series, animation, and what’s to come.

Animation, especially adult animation, is experiencing a bit of a renaissance. Between Adult Swim, YouTube, and Netflix series like Love, Death and Robots, it’s an exciting time for sci-fi fans who want a little more adult narrative. A show like Love, Death and Robots would have faced a harder time getting greenlit if it came up 10 or 15 years ago. Adult Swim was one of the few networks trying to give adult animation a chance, but even it was restricted by FCC rules. On Netflix, where anything goes, Miller and Nelson are making the show they dreamed of working on as teens.

“The first season of LDR was really groundbreaking for a lot of people,” Nelson — who joined the show this year as supervising director and helmed a few of the shorts — told IGN. “And people saw that and thought, ‘This is possible’; that level of beauty and quality and just subversive stories was possible. As a fan, that's something I've always wanted to do.”

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/03/12/love-death-and-robots-review"]

When Miller and David Fincher pitched Netflix on the first anthology set years ago, it was still a bit of a risk. Netflix didn’t have any data to prove whether something like this could even work. For a streaming service built on using data to place its bets, it was like going in completely blind. Miller had heard similar responses before from networks — executives didn’t know if the idea would work, and that uncertainty is partially what led to Heavy Metal being in limbo for more than a decade, Miller told IGN. He was concerned that Netflix wouldn’t move forward with it, but was pleasantly surprised.

“They came back and said, ‘We don't have any data, we don't know if it's gonna tank or explode, but we think it's cool and we're willing to take that risk,” he said.

Now, with the series’ second volume around the corner, Miller and his team have proven there’s an audience for this type of adult animation. While some of Love, Death and Robots is mature, and while some of it does require an older audience to sit through a gory or disturbing scene, the creators didn’t intentionally go out of their way to be edgy. The goal is finding a balance of stories, some lighthearted and some a little darker, that feel distinctly different.

Miller and Nelson have always committed to finding stories that resonate with themselves and their team, but there was a new challenge that greeted them as they worked away on the second volume: the pandemic. Although the pandemic itself didn’t interfere with their work — animation is one of the few entertainment areas that can be done almost entirely remotely, and it’s why some networks turned to animation hybrid episodes for their own series — there were a few internal conversations about imagery in the shorts as it may have pertained to the pandemic. Ultimately, Netflix was hands off, giving Nelson and Miller their complete support.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=saddest-robot-deaths&captions=true"]

“They really do trust us to do what we think is right,” Nelson said. “We had a few internal discussions, but it really was like, ‘Oh, isn't it weird that ‘Snow in the Desert’ has a bunch of scenes with people with masks on their face? It has a mix of dystopia and utopia, but I feel it's all kind of utopian. Even in the dystopia, I want to make people feel better. There's always got to be a ray of hope, even in the really dark stories.”

One thing Miller learned from the first series was to lead with comedy. When Love, Death and Robots premiered, the order of shorts changed depending on the subscriber. This is also something only Netflix could do at the time compared to other major entertainment players. The distribution model caught a lot of attention, and Miller said that although Netflix never shared viewership numbers with him or his team, he did learn to lead with comedy, not some of the edgier shorts.

“In the fullness of time, I think it would have been better if we drew them in with something like comedy rather than challenge them right out of the gate,” Miller said. “That was the biggest lesson we learned being on Netflix. It's such cool technology where you can actually see with a small focus group and test that concept.”

Another core advantage to being on Netflix is the tantalizing possibility that Miler and Nelson can do even more with Love, Death and Robots using the technology available to them. Could Love, Death and Robots get its own interactive special like Black Mirror: Bandersnatch? It’s a matter of bandwidth, according to Miller.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/02/14/netflixs-love-death-robots-trailer-david-fincher-tim-miller"]

“There's some interesting things that we can do that aren't so narrative driven that I would love to do,” Miller said. “But I also don't want to lose our focus on the narrative if we do that.”

The good news for fans is that Miller and Nelson don’t plan to end the series anytime soon. Volume three is already being worked on and, if Netflix signed off tomorrow, they’d have enough stories and ideas to get started on a fourth volume, Miller said. The idea of continuing, and going even further so, “we can get even better stories and give people more of what they want is a huge, run ride,” Nelson added. The duo have no plans of stopping work on their show — as long as Netflix continues signing off.

“Why would we stop doing this as long as they let us continue to do it?” Miller asked. “I love animation, and I love animators. They're just kind of a unique breed. It’s a real honor to be able to, as Jennifer said, bring these people the project that they never thought they would get. It's really like a Santa Claus sort of moment in the best possible way.”

Marvel has dropped the first trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, alongside a brand new poster and official images. The studio surprised Simu Liu, who stars as the titular hero in the upcoming MCU movie, with a "birthday present" in the form of the teaser trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which is due out in theaters on September 3. The trailer shows Liu in action as the Master of Kung Fu, confronting the past he thought he had left behind before getting drawn into the Ten Rings organization. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/19/shang-chi-and-the-legend-of-the-ten-rings-official-teaser-trailer"] On Twitter, Liu also shared a teaser poster for Shang-Chi featuring his character suited up in costume. In the image, he sports a distinctive red and black outfit with a tactical design perfect for combat. He's pictured with his fists firmly clenched ready to take on any adversaries, namely his father, Wenwu, the leader of the Ten Rings terrorist group. Alongside the trailer and the poster, EW unveiled a batch of official stills for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, offering fans a closer look at the main cast, which features Tony Leung as Wenwu, Awkwafina as Shang-Chi's friend Katy and Michelle Yeoh as Jiang Nan, as well as Fala Chen as Jiang Li, Meng'er Zhang as Xialing, Florian Munteanu as Razor Fist, and Ronny Chieng as Jon Jon. One of the images depicts the movie's titular hero, who spent his early years training to become a skilled assassin under his father's strict tutelage, stepping out to carve his own story as a martial arts master. Liu said his character will be given the spotlight for the first time, following in the footsteps of other comic book characters that have made big screen debuts before him. "His backstory has never been told before," Liu said. "We know so many different versions of Batman's origin story, how his parents were murdered when he was very young. We know Peter Parker, who was bitten by a radioactive spider, and he loses his uncle. Shang-Chi's story is very much unknown to most of the world, so we had a lot of freedom and creative liberty to make it the way that we wanted to." Shang-Chi's backstory will no doubt reveal more about his complicated relationship with his father, who has "gone by many names" over the course of history, including "The Mandarin," one of Marvel Comics' most legendary supervillains. However, producer Jonathan Schwartz promises that the movie will deliver "a more complex and layered take on the character than that name would lead you to." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvel-cinematic-universe-every-upcoming-movie-and-tv-show&captions=true"] The martial arts epic will not only pack a punch with an emotional family drama running through its core, but also an elaborate sequence of highly choreographed fight scenes, which Schwartz recognizes as some of "the best action [Marvel has] ever done," explaining that, "every punch is meaningful, every fighting style is meaningful, and the story is told visually in such a great way." Shang-Chi finished filming towards the end of last year after production briefly shut down due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Liu shared a powerful message to honor the wrap of production, noting in a private Facebook group that it would be "impossible for Hollywood to ignore us after this." The movie is set to hit theaters on September 3 after Black Widow took its original planned July release. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

The world of top-level football (or soccer, depending on where you are) is in turmoil today after the announcement of The Super League. The proposed breakaway organisation has caused huge divisions within the sport's leagues and governing bodies – and the knock-on for video games based on football could be seismic if it went ahead. Fans of the games are already making themselves heard on the issue. The Super League was announced on Sunday, April 18 in a joint statement from 12 of the world's richest clubs, and intends to bring together 15 permanent members and 5 yearly qualifying teams to make up a 20-strong group that plays games alongside the traditional domestic leagues. However, opposition to the plan – which would reward the richest clubs in the world, likely at the cost of the rest of the football pyramid – has been widespread. At time of writing, FIFA and UEFA (the world and European governing bodies for football respectively) have condemned the plans, and sanctions could include any participating clubs and players being banned from existing national and international competitions. While the news is still very fresh, with negotiations and preparations for legal action ongoing, it's clear that those sanctions – if they did come to fruition – could fundamentally affect video games based on the sport, both in terms of game structure and licensing. Many fans are already contacting the developers of FIFA, Pro Evolution Soccer, and Football Manager, even asking for the teams involved to be removed from the games in protest at the news.

How will this Super League drama affect FIFA 22 ?

— (@Major_Lazier) April 19, 2021

Across fan communities on Twitter and Reddit, questions about the future of the games are rolling in. Wawan Su asked EA Sports, "What [does] the future hold for FIFA game franchise? I mean, 50% of FIFA players might be fan of one of those 12 clubs", while Karl Roberts was more downbeat, saying, "well that's ultimate team killed off with the European super league not being backed by fifa." On the flip side, many PES fans are actively asking Konami to pick up the license to the mooted new league to spite FIFA, with C.K. writing "you guys better get the rights to the clubs in the Super League. I need a reason to leave @EASPORTSFIFA behind." Others are asking the developers to protest the news, with theJackal on Twitter writing to the FIFA team to say, "can you please immediately remove all the ‘Super’ league teams from your game", and Lloyd Woods contacting Sports Interactive to say, "if this super league happens, please please please do not include it any future games!!?" While the Super League is by no means a done deal – with many observers seeing it as more of a bargaining chip for the clubs involved than a realistic possibility, the very fact that an announcement has been made will be a cause of interest and concern for the creators of the world's biggest football games. IGN has contacted the creators of FIFA, Pro Evolution Soccer, and Football Manager for comment. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/06/fifa-21-review"] With nothing set in stone, the implications of such a move going ahead are entirely speculative, but the potential knock-on effects to the games are very interesting. EA Sports' FIFA, one of the world's largest game series, could be fundamentally affected by the move. With its license tied directly to the football governing body, EA Sports' series is bound by the competitions organised by FIFA and its partners – the proposed Super League may not be recognised by FIFA and, as such, would almost certainly not appear in the game. If players and teams in the new league were to be banned from existing national and international football competitions, FIFA could potentially lose some of the most-used clubs in the game, as well as its biggest stars. That's to say nothing of the effect on the game's controversial Ultimate Team mode, which has effectively monetised players yearning for the world's best footballers – with superstars of the sport gone, Ultimate Team would lose one its key hooks. EA has not yet commented on the situation. Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer is far less tied to football's real-world organisations, but does still license leagues, clubs, and player likenesses, all of which could be affected by the Super League's breakaway, particularly if disputes emerge between individual parties. On the other hand, developer Konami has acquired exclusive licenses in PES that FIFA could then not use – most famously, Juventus (one of the Super League clubs, incidentally) is totally exclusive to PES. There's a possible future in which Konami sees this as an opportunity to secure the Super League license that EA's association with FIFA prevents it from holding – a potential major factor in the rival games' popularities. Konami told IGN it had no comment on the situation. Sports Interactive' Football Manager is likely to be least affected by the Super League, with its somewhat holistic view of world football tied less to individual players and licenses. However, the effects of the Super League and any potential punishments meted out to those involved, could very much change how future installments of the game would play. Sports Interactive has not yet commented on the situation, with Football Manager director Miles Jacobson tweeting to say he won't be tweeting more about it today, bur that there's "a long way to go" on such a deal. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. He's a Spurs fan, and is extremely unhappy about all this. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

A LEGO Luigi starter course set has seemingly leaked after a recent LEGO Mario firmware update teased its arrival. As reported by TheBrickFan, the LEGO Super Mario Adventures With Luigi set was leaked on Amazon China over the weekend. The set was previously teased by LEGO Super Mario himself, in a spooky bit of marketing which saw LEGO Mario start to cry out for his brother following a firmware update. Amazon's listing came with a number of official images for the set, which you can see in the gallery below: [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=lego-super-mario-adventures-with-luigi-leaked-images&captions=true"] The set contains Luigi sporting the same reactive LCD screen as his brother, as well as a set of new side characters including a Bone Goomba, a Boom Boom and a pink Yoshi. The listing (which has now been taken down) apparently featured a release date of July 9 and noted that the set would be compatible with the rest of the LEGO Super Mario sets. LEGO is yet to officially address and reveal the Luigi starter set, but it's thought an announcement can't be too far away given the firmware marketing push and this substantial leak. Here are our impressions of the initial set, where we noted how LEGO Super Mario is great... once it clicks. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

GameStop has announced that its Chief Executive Officer, George Sherman, is stepping down from his position and leaving the company by the end of July. In an announcement from the company detailing its “Chief Executive Officer Succession Plan”, it was revealed that Sherman will leave the company’s board of directors on July 31, 2021, or potentially earlier if a successor is decided upon. While the statement does not provide extensive information on why Sherman is leaving, it does explain that GameStop’s board of directors has been “evaluating executive leadership to ensure the Company has the right skills to meet changing business requirements.” “The Board’s Strategic Planning and Capital Allocation Committee is leading a search to identify Chief Executive Officer candidates with the capabilities and experience to help accelerate the next phase of the Company’s transformation,” adds the statement. It appears that the search for Sherman’s replacement is ongoing. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/28/what-is-going-on-with-gamestop-stock-ign-now"] The change comes two years into Sherman’s tenure as CEO, a position that he was appointed to in April 2019. While Sherman may be stepping down from the position of CEO, earlier this month GameStop announced that he was one of the candidates for its board of directors. Sherman may no longer head up the company, but he may well remain one of the key members of its leadership team. The decision on the new board of directors will be made at GameStop’s annual meeting on June 9. Numerous current board members have withdrawn from the company, including ex-Nintendo of America President, Reggie Fils-Aimé. He and seven others are set to retire, pointing to a major reshuffle of the company’s board. With the board reshuffle and change of CEO, it appears that GameStop is preparing for a significant shift in its strategy and direction. The company’s latest earnings call offered no details on what that new direction may look like, but the company’s new equity offering program that intends to sell up to 3.5 million shares points to GameStop seeking to raise funds for significant change. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

A character codenamed Pariah may be coming to Apex Legends if a series of Twitter leaks are to be believed. Apex Legends data miner Biast12 posted a screenshot to Twitter detailing the abilities of a character called Pariah. According to the leaks, Pariah's passive will let them see enemy health bars, and provide immunity to stunning effects and steam. Pariah's tactical ability is a Sonar Grenade, where they throw a projectile at enemies which reveals their location in an area, the effect lasting for 15 seconds (if you've used a Snapshot Grenade in Call of Duty: Warzone, this sounds similar). Pariah's ultimate is reportedly called Sacrificial Romantic and sees them release a burst of steam that renders Pariah stationary. The steam will then burn all enemies caught inside of its area of effect.

Pariah Abilities :)

Ultimate: Pariah activates a SDM device releasing a flurry of steam in all directions but becomes unable to move, Steam causes burn damage directly to health Tactical and Passive under this tweet↓↓↓ pic.twitter.com/qp7xpB8cP3 — Biast12 (Tobias) (@Biast12) April 14, 2021

In another tweet, Biast12 seems to have revealed a number of Pariah's Legendary skins, which are currently codenamed Secret Service, Lost Archive, Phantom Edge and Chimera. Of course, all of the details in these leaks are subject to change and are unconfirmed at present. Apex Legends is about to move into its 9th Season, which seems set to be a big one – game director Chad Grenier recently said that it will include "a ton of Titanfall coming back into the game, in one way or another." Senior writer Ashley Reed added, “What’s going on in Titanfall is a war, Apex is what happens after the war, like what is life like in this place? So we’re trying to integrate Titanfall into that, because Titanfall’s very much a part of the universe.” In other Apex Legends news, the game recently hit a massive milestone, recording 100 million players. In a video to accompany the news, eagle-eyed fans have spotted what seems to be a new character flying through the sky at the 0:43 second mark. Whether this is Pariah or someone else entirely is currently up for debate. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

NASA's Mars Ingenuity helicopter has made history this morning after successfully completing the first powered, controlled flight on another planet. NASA announced the news live on Monday morning after receiving the data downlink in the Space Flight Operations Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) near Los Angeles, where it was confirmed that the Ingenuity helicopter had successfully executed its flight on Mars, with data showing that it had taken off, ascended to around 10ft (three meters) above the surface of Mars, and landed again.

"Wow!"

The @NASAJPL team is all cheers as they receive video data from the @NASAPersevere rover of the Ingenuity #MarsHelicopter flight: pic.twitter.com/8eH4H6jGKs — NASA (@NASA) April 19, 2021

"We can now say that human beings have flown a rotorcraft on another planet," said MiMi Aung, Ingenuity Mars Helicopter project manager at JPL. "We've been talking for so long about our Wright brothers' moment on Mars. And here it is. This project has had many friends who contributed to its success. And Perseverance rover, the best host little Ingenuity could have." [caption id="attachment_2502062" align="alignnone" width="720"] The shadow cast by the Ingenuity helicopter as it flew above Mars' surface (NASA)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2502063" align="alignnone" width="720"] Image captured from the first video of the Ingenuity helicopter hovering above Mars' surface (NASA)[/caption] She added: "We know that our time to make a difference at Jezero Crater on Mars is not yet over. Let's enjoy this moment but we must enjoy this moment because over the years there are people who have never let me celebrate fully – every time we hit one of these major milestones: 'not yet, not yet.' Take that moment and then after that let's get back to work." The helicopter, which weighs about four pounds with a wingspan of 1.2 meters, is powered by batteries that are charged through solar panels on its top side, and at a full battery, the helicopter can fly for about 90 seconds, according to NASA. It then must land safely and charge enough of its battery again to power the heater onboard as this protects the helicopter from the Red Planet's cold nights. Meanwhile, the Mars Perseverance Rover was equipped with an instrument, which was built by the helicopter team, to collect data from Ingenuity that could then be transmitted to satellites over Mars and sent back to the Deep Space Network antennas on Earth before being sent to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory where it was processed and assessed by the team. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=sights-and-sounds-of-mars-from-nasas-perseverance-rover&captions=true"] This flight marks a major milestone for NASA because the Ingenuity aircraft was powered by pre-programmed sequences, meaning that it was flying completely autonomously, with no joysticks or remote control technology involved. The space agency previously billed the flight as a potential "Wright Brothers moment" – referencing the first powered, controlled aircraft flight on Earth in 1903. Ingenuity was forced to remain grounded on the surface of the Red Planet for longer than initially planned, as NASA engineers worked on pre-flight checks for the experimental mission. The flight itself was postponed on several occasions to allow the team more time to detect and diagnose any problems, including technological challenges, such as when the helicopter's rotors stopped spinning. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.