Google is paying tribute to NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter with a new Search Easter egg. Google is no stranger to adding hidden features and treats within its products and services, with this NASA-themed one the latest example. Although many of these Search-related Easter eggs tend to be reflective of what’s happening at a specific point of time, many also remain available for a long time afterwards.
On April 19, NASA confirmed that its Ingenuity Mars helicopter officially became the first aircraft to make a powered, controlled flight on another planet. In total, the solar-powered (and autonomous) helicopter managed to climb to an altitude of 10 feet and remained in the air for almost forty seconds before touching back down again on the surface of Mars. The results of the flight were confirmed by Ingenuity relaying data back to NASA’s Southern California Jet Propulsion Laboratory via the agency’s Perseverance Mars rover.
Google confirmed the existence of the Easter egg on Twitter, while congratulating Nasa on “an amazing first flight” and noting how the historic event was “one giant leap for space exploration.” To actually check the hidden treat out, simply search for “Ingenuity NASA” on Google. The page will surface all of the usual results one would expect, but there will also be an animated Ingenuity helicopter visible in the knowledge panel. Users can then click on the animation to activate the Easter egg, setting the mini helicopter free to roam the Mars-themed Search page on its own. The Easter egg works on both the desktop and mobile versions of Google Search.
One Of Many Google Search Easter Eggs
While the Ingenuity Easter egg is designed to reflect the current NASA achievement, this is only one of the many hidden treats Google has released over the years. For example, there was an Avengers-themed Easter egg in Search that allowed users to perform a Thanos Snap on the results page. Although the Thanos Easter egg is no longer available, others still are, including a Sonic-themed hidden treat with the option of activating Super Sonic.
Many of these Easter eggs are just fun to look at, but some of them do come with an additional way to interact with popular topics. For example, those looking to play a game have the option of Pac-Man or taking Google up on a Maps-themed version of Snake. It is also worth noting that there are usually additional ways to activate many of these hidden features using alternate related keywords. As examples, both “Perseverance NASA” and “Mars 2020” will also launch Google’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter Easter egg.
Source: Google/Twitter, NASA