Mars 2020, Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity helicopter drone, NASA, USA

[Airicist]

First flight of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter: live from Mission Control

Streaming Apr 19, 2021

Up, up, and away! The Ingenuity #MarsHelicopter​ is set to make history. It will make the first attempt at powered flight on another planet on Monday, April 19. Don’t miss your chance to watch live with helicopter team in mission control beginning at 6:15 a.m. EDT (10:15 a.m. UTC) as they receive the data and find out if they were successful.

[Airicist]

First video of NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter in flight, includes takeoff and landing

Apr 19, 2021

In this video captured by NASA’s Perseverance rover, the agency's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter took the first powered, controlled flight on another planet on April 19, 2021.

The rover was parked at “Van Zyl Overlook,” about 211 feet (64.3 meters) away in Mars' Jezero Crater and chronicled the flight operations with its cameras.

These images from the rover’s Mastcam-Z cameras show the helicopter hovering above the Red Planet's surface. During this first flight, the helicopter climbed to an altitude of 10 feet (3 meters), hovered, and then touched back down on the surface of Mars.

Ingenuity is a technology demonstration. The 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) rotorcraft will help determine whether future explorations on Mars could include an aerial perspective.

Perseverance touched down at "Octavia E. Butler Landing" with Ingenuity attached to its belly on Feb. 18, 2021. The helicopter was deployed to the surface on April 3.

"NASA Mars helicopter makes history as first vehicle to fly on another planet"
Ingenuity has lifted off the Martian surface and launched a new era of planetary exploration.

by Jay Bennett
April 19, 2021

[Airicist]

Ingenuity's 2nd Mars flight! See first video & pics

Apr 22, 2021

Ingenuity has successfully completed its 2nd flight on Mars on April 22, 2021. NASA released a black and white image from the helicopter, plus a video preview & imagery captured by the Perseverance rover.

"Mars helicopter Ingenuity flies higher and longer on Red Planet in 2nd flight"

by Mike Wall
April 22, 2021

[Airicist]

Perseverance Rover's Mastcam-Z captures Ingenuity's third flight

Apr 26, 2021

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter takes off and lands in this video captured on April 25, 2021, by Mastcam-Z, an imager aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover. As expected, the helicopter flew out of its field of vision while completing a flight plan that took it 164 feet (50 meters) downrange of the landing spot. Keep watching, the helicopter will return to stick the landing. Top speed for today's flight was about 2 meters per second, or about 4.5 miles-per-hour.

The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was built by JPL, which also manages this technology demonstration project for NASA Headquarters. It is supported by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, and Space Technology Mission Directorate. NASA’s Ames Research Center and Langley Research Center provided significant flight performance analysis and technical assistance during Ingenuity’s development.

A key objective for Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).

Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.

JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.

[Airicist]

Article "NASA's Ingenuity helicopter just failed to lift off from the Martian surface, but it will try again Friday"

by Morgan McFall-Johnsen
April 28, 2021

[Airicist]

Fourth flight a success for NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter

May 1, 2021

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter successfully completed a fourth, more challenging flight on the Red Planet on April 30, 2021.

Flight Test No. 4 aimed for a longer flight time, longer distance, and more image capturing to begin to demonstrate its ability to serve as a scout on Mars. Ingenuity climbed to an altitude of 16 feet (5 meters) before flying south and back for an 872-foot (266-meter) round trip. In total, Ingenuity was in the air for 117 seconds, another set of records for the helicopter. The fourth flight lifted off from and returned to “Wright Brothers Field” in Jezero Crater, Mars.

The Ingenuity team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California determined that the flight was successful after receiving data from the helicopter and imagery from the Perseverance Mars rover.

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter became the first aircraft in history to make a powered, controlled flight on another planet on April 19, 2021.

Perseverance touched down at Octavia E. Butler Landing with Ingenuity attached to its belly on Feb. 18, 2021. The helicopter was deployed to the surface of Jezero Crater on April 3.

"Ingenuity Completes Its Fourth Flight"

by MiMi Aung, Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Project Manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
April 30, 2021

[Airicist]

NASA Science Live: Mars helicopter and the future of extraterrestrial flight

May 4, 2021

On April 19, the Ingenuity Mars helicopter became the first spacecraft to achieve powered, controlled flight on another world. This historic flight on Mars has implications for how we will explore other worlds. Join experts from the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter team and upcoming Dragonfly mission to learn about the future of extraterrestrial flight.

Meet the guests:

Mr. Johnny Lam is an Ingenuity Mars Helicopter pilot at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Mr. Lam always had an interest in math and science growing up, and enjoys getting to work on one-of-a-kind missions that are helping us to learn more about the universe. He is an avid frisbee player and has a family that is expecting their second baby soon. Mr. Lam has an exciting vision for how aerial vehicles could be used for exploration in the future. Watch the show to hear more about it!

Mr. Nishant Mehta is the Deputy Lead for the Dragonfly Mobility System at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory. Mr. Mehta grew up surrounded by science fiction through books and television, these stories reinforced the notion that possibilities are endless with science. His favorite part of his job is knowing that he is working on something that will ultimately be on another planet to help humanity understand our universe better than before.

Ms. Jia-Rui Cook is the News Events & Projects Supervisor at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and will be your host for this episode. As the child of immigrants, she has always been interested in American history and asking the question, “What does it mean to be American?” Working for NASA’s news and media team means she gets a front-row seat at this history in the making. In her role in the media office, she gets to help figure out how stories about first-of-their-kind accomplishments are told. When it comes to the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, Ms. Cook is amazed that the team could build something so light and powerful at the same time.

[Airicist]

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter fifth flight lands in New Airfield

May 8, 2021

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter completed its fifth flight with a one-way journey from Wright Brothers Field to a new airfield 423 feet (129 meters) to the south on May 7, 2021.

Ingenuity climbed to a new altitude record of 33 feet (10 meters). The flight is part of the rotorcraft’s transition to its new operations demonstration phase. This phase will focus on investigating how a rotorcraft can be used, and demonstrate products that only a rotorcraft can provide from its aerial vantage point.

Ingenuity became the first aircraft in history to make a powered, controlled flight on another planet on April 19, 2021, from Wright Brothers Field in Jezero Crater, Mars.

[Airicist]

Article "Perseverance: meet the driver who navigates the Mars rover"

by Passant Rabie
May 9, 2021

[Airicist]

Ingenuity completes 8th flight on Mars! See first pics & previous flights

Jun 22, 2021

NASA Mars helicopter Ingenuity conducted its 8th flight on Mars on June 22, 2021. See pics from the flight and replays of the 6th and 7th flights.

"Mars helicopter Ingenuity nails 8th flight on the Red Planet"
Ingenuity is traveling south to keep up with the Perseverance rover.

by Meghan Bartels
June 23, 2021