NASA Looking at Next Steps for Ingenuity Mars Helicopter

NASA is targeting early April for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter to make the first attempt at powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet. After Ingenuity is deployed from the rover, the 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) rotorcraft and the small team of engineers behind it will have 30 Martian days, or sols, (31 Earth days) to complete a series of flight tests. But the timeline leading up to the first flight and beyond depends on the helicopter meeting a series of daunting milestones first. Ingenuity is currently attached to the belly of NASA’s Perseverance rover, which touched down on Mars Feb. 18, 2021. On Sunday, March 21, the rover deployed the debris shield that protected Ingenuity during landing, and is currently in transit to the first “airfield” on another planet where Ingenuity will attempt to fly. For more information about Ingenuity, visit https://go.nasa.gov/ingenuity-press-kit and https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter.