Skagit County company marks out-of-this-world achievement

Joe Teehan

KGMIIn this illustration, NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter stands on the Red Planet's surface as NASA's Perseverance rover (partially visible on the left) rolls away. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — A Mount Vernon manufacturer can claim an out-of-this-world accomplishment: one of its products is on Mars.

Goodwinds Composites manufactured the legs of Ingenuity, the small helicopter attached to the belly of the Mars Perseverance Rover, which landed on Mars Thursday.

Co-owner Amelia Cook told the Skagit Valley Herald it was an incredible feeling to livestream the landing.

To celebrate, they took a long lunch break and enjoyed red velvet cupcakes in honor of the red planet.

The autonomous helicopter will be deployed and used to test powered flight in the thin Martian atmosphere.