NASA's Mars helicopter survived its first night alone on the red planet after the Perseverance rover set it free
NASA’s Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, has survived its first cold night alone on the red planet.
Now that it’s separated from the Perseverance rover, the helicopter is fully independent.
Ingenuity is poised to attempt the first Martian rotocraft flight as early as April 11.
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NASA’s new space helicopter has survived its first night alone on Mars.
After slowly unfolding from its hideaway in Perseverance’s belly, the 4-pound robot dropped the last four inches to the ground on Saturday. By weathering freezing temperatures, Ingenuity — as the helicopter is called — has overcome one of the biggest hurdles in NASA’s quest to fly the first drone on another planet.
Ingenuity is set to conduct its first Martian flight as early as April 11. If that goes well, the space drone will have a roughly 30-day window to attempt up to five increasingly difficult flights, venturing higher and further each time.
NASA’s Perseverance rover, which carried Ingenuity to Mars, will perch nearby and record video. That footage will help NASA collect crucial data about this technological demonstration, since it could pioneer a new method of exploring other planets.
Sitting alone on its Martian airfield, Ingenuity is finally in position for those flights.
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