On March 212021 NASA’s Perseverance Rover send images of Mars Helicopter Ingenuity deployment started from Debris Shield Dropping. 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. Ingenuity hitched a ride on the Perseverance rover’s belly, covered by a shield to protect it during the descent and landing. Once at a suitable spot on Mars, the shield covering beneath the rover will drop. Then, the team will release the helicopter in several steps to get it safely onto the surface.

Credit: nasa.gov, NASA/JPL-Caltech, NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

Source for NASA’s Mars Helicopter Ingenuity page: https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/

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