Taking Flight on Another World
Mars Helicopter with Perseverance rover in the background
The Mars Helicopter, Ingenuity, is a technology demonstration to test powered flight on another world for the first time. It hitched a ride to Mars on the Perseverance rover. Once the rover reaches a suitable "helipad" location, it will release Ingenuity to perform a series of test flights over a 30-Martian-day experimental window beginning in early April.
For the first flight, the helicopter will take off a few feet from the ground, hover in the air for about 20 to 30 seconds, and land. That will be a major milestone: the very first powered flight in the extremely thin atmosphere of Mars. After that, the team will attempt additional experimental flights of incrementally farther distance and greater altitude. After the helicopter completes its technology demonstration, Perseverance will continue its scientific mission.
March 31, 2021
Beginning April 2021, the window opens for the first flight of NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. It will be history’s first attempt at powered, controlled flight on another planet. Ingenuity arrived at Mars on February 18, 2021, riding along with NASA’s Perseverance rover. Before it attempts takeoff, the Mars Helicopter must first survive the arduous journey to Mars – from the turbulent liftoff to the harrowing landing – as well as dangerously cold nights where it must maintain power to keep itself warm enough to operate. The duration of Ingenuity’s mission is 30 days, where one or more test flights will be attempted.
As a technology demonstration, Ingenuity is testing a new capability for the first time: showing controlled flight is possible in the very thin Martian atmosphere. If successful, Ingenuity could lead to an aerial dimension to space exploration, aiding both robots and humans in the future.
For more about the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, visit: mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter.