Science

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter gets set to explore Mars

In the coming days, NASA's Perseverance rover will watch the historic first flight on the red planet.

James Martin

James Martin is the Managing Editor of Photography at CNET. His photos capture technology's impact on society - from the widening wealth gap in San Francisco, to the European refugee crisis and Rwanda's efforts to improve health care. From the technology pioneers of Google and Facebook, photographing Apple's Steve Jobs and Tim Cook, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sundar Pichai, to the most groundbreaking launches at Apple and NASA, his is a dream job for any documentary photography and journalist with a love for technology. Exhibited widely, syndicated and reprinted thousands of times over the years, James follows the people and places behind the technology changing our world, bringing their stories and ideas to life.

See full bio

James Martin

April 10, 2021 5:09 p.m. PT

1 of 10 NASA/JPL-Caltech

In the coming days, NASA's Ingenuity helicopter will make a historic attempt at the first powered, controlled flight on another planet. The space agency is targeting no earlier than Wednesday, April 14, for this first flight attempt.

Here, the Ingenuity helicopter can be seen on Mars as viewed by the Perseverance rover's rear hazard camera on April 4, 2021.

NASA's Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image using its onboard Right Navigation Camera

2 of 10 NASA/JPL-Caltech

Prior to its deployment, Ingenuity was tucked inside the Perseverance rover. That allowed the helicopter to charge its battery and heat itself using the power of the rover, which kept the interior at about 45 degrees Fahrenheit through the cold Martian nights, when temperatures can drop to as low as minus 130 F.

3 of 10 NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA says the flight date may shift as engineers make adjustments and go through the preflight checks to ensure everything is operating as expected.

See the first Mars color photo recently snapped by Ingenuity.

Timing for events and the latest schedule will be available on the helicopter's Watch Online webpage:

https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/#Watch-Online

4 of 10 NASA/JPL-Caltech

In this animation, Ingenuity swings down, with two of its four legs extended, from the belly of the Perseverance rover on March 28, 2021.

5 of 10 NASA/JPL-Caltech

The Ingenuity helicopter is seen here underneath the Perseverance rover, with its four legs extended.

6 of 10 NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

Here, the Ingenuity helicopter is seen in a closeup taken by the rover's Mastcam-Z pair of cameras.

7 of 10 NASA/JPL-Caltech

We're not going to be drone-racing around Mars on day one. Initially, the plan is for the helicopter to start off slow, taking off and hovering just a few feet from the ground for about 20 to 30 seconds before landing.

8 of 10 NASA/JPL-Caltech

But that first flight will be a major milestone. It will be the very first powered flight in the extremely thin atmosphere of Mars.

NASA's Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image of the area in back of it using its onboard Rear Right Hazard Avoidance Camera.

9 of 10 NASA/JPL-Caltech

If this first effort at flight is a success, the Ingenuity helicopter will then attempt increasingly challenging flights of farther distances and greater altitudes.

Perseverance rover with its Mars companion, the Ingenuity helicopter

10 of 10 NASA/JPL-Caltech

The Perseverance rover has been busy snapping pictures of itself (including this charming look at its "face"), but now we have the complete view. NASA on Wednesday released a glorious, full-body selfie showing the rover with its Mars companion, the Ingenuity helicopter.