An illustration of NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter flying on Mars. Ingenuity, a technology demonstration experiment, will be the first aircraft to attempt powered, controlled flight on another planet. Ingenuity arrived at Mars on Feb. 18, 2021, attached to the belly of NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover. Ingenuity is expected to attempt its first flight test in spring 2021. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24466

The flight model of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23882

An Ingenuity team member inspects NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter in one of the space simulation chambers at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The helicopter's two cameras are visible in this view of the underside of Ingenuity: one looking straight down and the other at an oblique angle. In the octagonal black frame, the black-and-white navigation camera is the thick circle appearing between and just below the two larger lenses (parts of the laser altimeter that measures the helicopter's height above the ground). The color camera is the circle that is inset from the edge of the fuselage, appearing below the octagonal frame. (An annotated version of the image points out the cameras.) To protect against dust, a clear borosilicate window covers the altimeter and navigation camera, and a clear sapphire window covers the color camera. Ingenuity will attempt the first powered, controlled flight at Mars. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23969

Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory speaks at an event marking NASA’s donation of the aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023, at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steve F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. The aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which was the first to demonstrate it was possible to fly in a simulated Mars environment at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), was donated to the museum on Friday. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory speaks at an event marking NASA’s donation of the aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023, at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steve F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. The aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which was the first to demonstrate it was possible to fly in a simulated Mars environment at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), was donated to the museum on Friday. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory speaks at an event marking NASA’s donation of the aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023, at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steve F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. The aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which was the first to demonstrate it was possible to fly in a simulated Mars environment at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), was donated to the museum on Friday. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

In this artist's concept, NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter stands on the Red Planet's surface as NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover (partially visible on the left) rolls away. Ingenuity, a technology experiment, will be the first aircraft to attempt controlled flight on another planet. It will arrive on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021, attached to the belly of NASA's Perseverance rover. Perseverance will deploy Ingenuity onto the surface of Mars, and Ingenuity is expected to attempt its first flight test in spring 2021. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23720

Jeremy Kinney, associate director of research, collections, and curatorial affairs at the National Air and Space Museum speaks at an event marking NASA’s donation of the aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023, at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steve F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. The aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which was the first to demonstrate it was possible to fly in a simulated Mars environment at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), was donated to the museum on Friday. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Matt Shindell, space history curator at the National Air and Space Museum speaks at an event marking NASA’s donation of the aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023, at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steve F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. The aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which was the first to demonstrate it was possible to fly in a simulated Mars environment at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), was donated to the museum on Friday. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Matt Shindell, space history curator at the National Air and Space Museum speaks at an event marking NASA’s donation of the aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023, at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steve F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. The aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which was the first to demonstrate it was possible to fly in a simulated Mars environment at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), was donated to the museum on Friday. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)The aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is seen at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steve F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023, in Chantilly, Va. The prototype, which demonstrated it was possible to fly in a simulated Mars environment at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), was donated Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Eric Ianson, deputy director of the Planetary Science Division and director of the Mars Exploration Program and Radioisotope Power Systems Program at NASA speaks at an event marking NASA’s donation of the aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023, at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steve F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. The aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which was the first to demonstrate it was possible to fly in a simulated Mars environment at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), was donated to the museum on Friday. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

In this photo taken on Oct. 1, 2019, the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter (between left and center rover wheels) have just completed a multiweek evaluation under Mars-like conditions inside a 25-foot-wide, 85-foot-tall (8-meter-by-26-meter) vacuum chamber at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. It marks the first time that Ingenuity was deployed in a flight-like manner from the belly of Perseverance, utilizing all the actuators (motors) and pyrotechnics that will be required to release the rotorcraft from the rover's belly and place it safely on the surface of Mars. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24043

This image of an area the Mars Perseverance rover team calls "Faillefeu" was captured by NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 13th flight at Mars on Sept. 4, 2021. At the time the image was taken, Ingenuity was at an altitude of 26 feet (8 meters). Images of the geologic feature were taken at the request of the Mars Perseverance rover science team, which was considering visiting the geologic feature during the first science campaign. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24810

This enhanced color image of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was taken by the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard Perseverance on April 16, 2023, the 766th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission. At the time the image was taken, the rover was about 75 feet (23 meters) away. The helicopter's first flight on Mars was on April 19, 2021. This is the best look the Ingenuity team has had of the rotorcraft since its first flight. Small diodes (visible more clearly in this image of helicopter) appear as small protrusions on the top of the helicopter's solar panel. The panel and the two 4-foot (1.2-meter) counter-rotating rotors have accumulated a fine coating of dust. The metalized insulating film covering the exterior of the helicopter's fuselage appears to be intact. Ingenuity's color, 13-megapixel, horizon-facing terrain camera can be seen at the center-bottom of the fuselage. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25881

This image of the official pilot's logbook for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter flights — the "Nominal Pilot's Logbook for Planets and Moons" — was taken at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on April 19, 2021, the day of Ingenuity's first historic flight. Pilot logbooks are used by aviators to provide a record of their flights, including current and accumulated flight time, number and locations of takeoffs and landings, as well as unique operating conditions and certifications. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24440

Members of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter team got together for a team photo on the second anniversary of the rotorcraft's first flight on Mars. The image was taken at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on April 19, 2023. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25882

The aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is seen at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steve F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023, in Chantilly, Va. The prototype, which was the first to demonstrate it was possible to fly in a simulated Mars environment at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), was donated to the museum on Friday. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

The aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is seen at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steve F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023, in Chantilly, Va. The prototype, which was the first to demonstrate it was possible to fly in a simulated Mars environment at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), was donated to the museum on Friday. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter can be seen on Mars as viewed by the Perseverance rover's rear Hazard Camera on April 4, 2021, the 44th Martian day, or sol of the mission. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory built and manages operations of Perseverance and Ingenuity for the agency. Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages JPL for NASA. The Mars helicopter technology demonstration activity is supported by NASA's Science Mission Directorate, the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, and the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate. 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. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24541

This 3D view of an area the Mars Perseverance rover team calls "Faillefeu" was created from data collected by NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 13th flight at Mars on Sept. 4, 2021. The images used to create the 3D, or anaglyph, picture of the geologic feature were taken at the request of the Mars Perseverance rover science team, which was considering visiting the geologic feature during the first science campaign. The anaglyph is best viewed with red-blue glasses. It was created by combining data from two images taken 16 feet (5 meters) apart by the color camera aboard Ingenuity. At the time the two images were taken, Ingenuity was at an altitude of 26 feet (8 meters). https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24811

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter captured this view of Martian sand ripples on Oct. 27, 2023, during Flight 64. The spot where the helicopter would later park and remain during Mars solar conjunction is visible in this image. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26201

JPL Robotics Technologist Ben Morrell introduces the Mars Ingenuity Helicopter to a group of visitors on Saturday, July 30, 2022, in the NASA pavilion at AirVenture Oshkosh.

This animated GIF was generated using imagery acquired by the navigation camera aboard NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 25th flight on April 18, 2022. Covering a distance of 2,310 feet (704 meters) and at a speed of 12 mph (5.5 meters per second), it was the Red Planet rotorcraft's longest and fastest flight to date. The first frame of the clip shows the view about one second into the flight. After reaching an altitude of 33 feet (10 meters), the helicopter heads southwest, accelerating to its maximum speed in less than three seconds. Ingenuity first flies over a group of sand ripples then, about halfway through the video, several rock fields. Finally, relatively flat and featureless terrain appears below, making a good landing spot. The video of the 161.3-second flight was speeded up approximately five times, reducing it to less than 35 seconds. Ingenuity's navigation camera has been programmed to deactivate whenever the rotorcraft is within 3 feet (1 meter) of the surface. This helps ensure any dust kicked up during takeoff and landing won't interfere with the navigation system as it tracks features on the ground. Movie available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25321

This illustration depicts Mars Helicopter Ingenuity during a test flight on Mars. Ingenuity was taken to the Red Planet strapped to the belly of the Perseverance rover (seen in the background). Ingenuity, a technology experiment, will be the first aircraft to attempt controlled flight on another planet. It will arrive on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021, attached to the belly of NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover. Ingenuity is expected to attempt its first flight test in spring 2021. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24127

Video footage from NASA's Perseverance Mars rover provides a big-picture perspective of the 13th flight of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. The 160.5-second reconnaissance sortie involved flying into challenging terrain and taking images of a specific rocky outcrop from multiple angles. Captured from a distance of about 980 feet (300 meters) by the rover's two-camera Mastcam-Z, Ingenuity is barely discernable near the lower left of frame at the beginning of the video. An annotated version of this video highlighting the location of Ingenuity can be found here. At 0:04 seconds into the video Ingenuity takes off and climbs to an altitude of to 26 feet (8 meters) before beginning its sideways translation to the right. At the video's 0:59 second point, Ingenuity leaves the camera's field of view on the right. Soon after (1:02), the helicopter returns into the field of view (the majority of frames that did not capture helicopter after it exited the camera's field of view were purposely not downlinked from Mars by the team) and lands at a location near its takeoff point. To obtain the footage, the "left eye" of the Mastcam-Z instrument is set for a wide-angle shot (26 mm focal length). The video is shot at 6 frames per second. Another view (PIA24979) is taken at the same time by Mastcam-Z's other ("right eye") imager and provides a closer perspective of the helicopter as it took off and landed. The Mastcam-Z investigation is led and operated by Arizona State University in Tempe, working in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, California, on the design, fabrication, testing, and operation of the cameras, and in collaboration with the Neils Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen on the design, fabrication, and testing of the calibration targets. 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. Movie available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24978

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover captured this video of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter's 54th flight on Aug. 3, 2023. After performing a preflight "wiggle check" with its rotors, the helicopter takes off, hovers at an altitude of 16 feet (5 meters), and rotates to the left, before touching back down. The mission conducted the short pop-up flight to check Ingenuity's navigation system. The video was captured by the rover's Mastcam-Z imager from a distance of about 180 feet (55 meters). Arizona State University in Tempe leads the operations of the Mastcam-Z instrument, working in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, on the design, fabrication, testing, and operation of the cameras, and in collaboration with the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen on the design, fabrication, and testing of the calibration targets. 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. Movie available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25970

Ingenuity project manager, JPL, MiMi Aung, gives remarks during a NASA Perseverance rover mission engineering and technology overview, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The Ingenuity Mars helicopter is a technology demonstration to test the first powered flight on Mars. The helicopter will ride to Mars attached to the belly of the Perseverance rover. The Perseverance Mars rover is due to land on Mars Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021. 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. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Ingenuity project manager, JPL, MiMi Aung, gives remarks during a NASA Perseverance rover mission engineering and technology overview, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The Ingenuity Mars helicopter is a technology demonstration to test the first powered flight on Mars. The helicopter will ride to Mars attached to the belly of the Perseverance rover. The Perseverance Mars rover is due to land on Mars Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021. 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. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

This illustration shows NASA astronauts working on the surface of Mars. A helicopter similar to the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is airborne at left. Ingenuity is being carried aboard the Perseverance rover; it will be deployed to the Martian surface in the weeks after landing to test whether future helicopters could accompany robotic and human missions. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24032

Video footage from the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard NASA's Perseverance Mars rover captured this closeup view of the takeoff and landing of the 13th flight of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter on Sept. 4, 2021. The 160.5-second reconnaissance sortie involved flying into challenging terrain and taking images of a specific outcrop from multiple angles. The closeup video of takeoff and landing was acquired as part of a science observation intended to measure the dust plumes generated by the helicopter. At the beginning of the video, Ingenuity is near the lower left of frame, at a distance of about 980 feet (300 meters) from the rover. It climbs to an altitude of to 26 feet (8 meters) before beginning its sideways translation. The helicopter leaves the camera's field of view on the right. Soon after, the helicopter returns into the field of view (the majority of frames that did not capture helicopter after it exited the camera's field of view were purposely not downlinked from Mars by the team) and lands at a location near its takeoff point. To obtain the footage, the two-camera Mastcam-Z's "right eye" was at its maximum zoom setting (110mm focal length). The video is shot at 6 frames per second. Another view (PIA24978) was taken at the same time by Mastcam-Z's "left eye" imager and provides a wider perspective of the same flight. The Mastcam-Z investigation is led and operated by Arizona State University in Tempe, working in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, California, on the design, fabrication, testing, and operation of the cameras, and in collaboration with the Neils Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen on the design, fabrication, and testing of the calibration targets. 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. Movie available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24979

In February 2021, NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover and NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter (shown in an artist's concept) will be the agency's two newest explorers on Mars. Both were named by students as part of an essay contest. Perseverance is the most sophisticated rover NASA has ever sent to Mars. Ingenuity, a technology experiment, will be the first aircraft to attempt controlled flight on another planet. Perseverance will arrive at Mars' Jezero Crater with Ingenuity attached to its belly. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23962

Ingenuity Mars chief pilot Håvard Grip records data of the first flight of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter into the official pilot's logbook for the project — the "Nominal Pilot's Logbook for Planets and Moons." The image was taken at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on April 19, 2021. Pilot logbooks are used by aviators to provide a record of their flights, including current and accumulated flight time, number and locations of takeoffs and landings, as well as unique operating conditions and certifications. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24591

The Mars Helicopter Base Station, seen here as the upper, gold-colored box near the back of NASA's Perseverance rover, stores and routes communications between NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter and mission controllers on Earth. (An annotated version of the image circles the base station in blue.) Ingenuity will attempt the first powered, controlled flight at Mars. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23968

Ioannis Allan Torounidis shows off his interpretation of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter on Wednesday, July 27, 2022 at AirVenture at Oshkosh.

When NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter attempts its first test flight on the Red Planet, the agency's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will be close by, as seen in this artist's concept. Ingenuity, a technology experiment, will be the first aircraft to attempt controlled flight on another planet. When it attempts its test flights on Mars in spring 2021, Ingenuity will remain within a 0.6-mile (1-kilometer) radius of Perseverance so it can communicate wirelessly with the rover. Perseverance then communicates with relay orbiters around Mars that send the signal back to Earth. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23963

This annotated image depicts the ground tracks of NASA's Perseverance rover (white) and Ingenuity Mars Helicopter (green) since arriving on Mars on February 18, 2021. The green dots represent the locations of the helicopter's airfields during the 11 flights it has made between April 19 and August 4. The lower yellow ellipse highlights the "Raised Ridges" geologic feature that Ingenuity reconnoitered during Flight 10. The upper yellow ellipse depicts the "South Séítah" region, which Ingenuity is scheduled to fly over during its 12th sortie. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24797

NASA's Mars missions, clockwise from top left: Perseverance rover and Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, InSight lander, Odyssey orbiter, MAVEN orbiter, Curiosity rover, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24838

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter's fourth flight path is superimposed here atop terrain imaged by the HiRISE camera aboard the agency's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24629

This image of Mars was taken from the height of 33 feet (10 meters) by NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter during its sixth flight, on May 22, 2021. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24600

This map shows the locations of NASA's Perseverance rover (white star) and Ingenuity Mars Helicopter (cyan star) on Dec. 19, 2023, the 1,007th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission at Mars. During that sol, the rover conducted science operations in an area the team calls "Gnaraloo Bay," while Ingenuity conducted flights 68 and 69 in "Neretva Vallis," a lower-elevation, flatter area (top left). The dots along the white line indicate the stops made by the rover beginning with Sept. 28, 2023, or Sol 927 (lower right). Ingenuity airfields are indicated by dots along the cyan line, starting with Sept. 11, 2023, or Sol 910 (also lower right). Ingenuity flights 68 and 69 consisted of a system identification, or "Sys-ID," test campaign. Sys-ID is a data-driven method for understanding the complex behavior of a system by studying how specific inputs impact the motion of the vehicle. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26311

Models for the seasonal variation in atmospheric density on Mars between summer (low density) and winter (higher density) predict that air density will be high enough in late March for NASA's Mars Ingenuity Helicopter to return to its original RPM. Since September, the helicopter's rotors have been operating an increased RPM of 2,700 – up from 2,537 RPM during Ingenuity's first 13 flights. The Ingenuity team will use observations from Perseverance's weather station, MEDA, to confirm the true air density on Mars before making the change. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25211

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter's navigation camera captured the rotorcraft in shadow during its 52nd flight on April 26, 2023. This image was finally received after Perseverance and Ingenuity were out of communication for 63 days. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25918

Adelaide Falzon assembles her version of the Mars Ingenuity helicopter on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, in NASA's STEM Zone at AirVenture Oshkosh.

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter can be seen hovering during its third flight on April 25, 2021, as seen by the left Navigation Camera aboard NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24624

This 3D view of an area the Mars Perseverance rover team calls "Raised Ridges" was created from data collected by NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 10th flight at Mars on July 24, 2021. The stereo images of the geologic feature were taken at the request of the Mars Perseverance rover science team, which was considering visiting the ridges during the first science campaign. On Earth, similar fractures in desert environments might be a clue to past liquid water activity and thus past habitability. The 3D view (or anaglyph) is best viewed with red-blue glasses. It was created by combining data from two images taken meters apart by the RTE camera aboard Ingenuity. At the time the two images were taken, Ingenuity was at an altitude of 40 feet (12 meters). https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24688

This annotated overhead image from the HiRISE camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) depicts three options for the agency's Mars Ingenuity Helicopter to take on flights out of the "Séítah" region, as well as the location of the entry, descent, and landing (EDL) hardware. The size and location of the landing ellipses have been analyzed to be safe for landing – free of hazards such as rocks, dunes, and large slopes. See an interactive map with Perseverance and Ingenuity location updates here: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/where-is-the-rover/ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25029

This altimeter chart shows data from the first flight of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which occurred on April 19, 2021. 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. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24587

The Ingenuity team celebrates during their final shift working on NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on April 16, 2024. The team gathered to review a transmission from the helicopter that confirmed the operation of a software patch allowing Ingenuity to act as a stationary testbed and collect data that could benefit future explorers of the Red Planet. Originally designed as short-lived technology demonstration mission that would perform up to five experimental test flights over 30 days, the first aircraft on another world operated from the Martian surface for almost three years, flew more than 14 times farther than planned, and logged more than two hours of total flight time. Its 72nd and final flight was Jan. 18, 2024. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26319

Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, Engineering Design Model 1, is seen on display during an event where NASA is outlining how the agency is executing President Donald J. Trump’s National Space Policy and accelerating preparations for America’s return to the surface of the Moon by 2028, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. During the event NASA leadership provided updates on mission priorities, including sending the first astronauts to the lunar surface in more than 50 years, establishing the initial elements of a permanent lunar base, getting America underway in space on nuclear propulsion, and other objectives. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, Engineering Design Model 1, is seen on display during an event where NASA is outlining how the agency is executing President Donald J. Trump’s National Space Policy and accelerating preparations for America’s return to the surface of the Moon by 2028, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. During the event NASA leadership provided updates on mission priorities, including sending the first astronauts to the lunar surface in more than 50 years, establishing the initial elements of a permanent lunar base, getting America underway in space on nuclear propulsion, and other objectives. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

This annotated image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), and the topographic map below it, provide a look at the altitude of surface features standing between the agency's Perseverance Mars rover and Ingenuity helicopter at the conclusion of the rotorcraft's 17th flight at Mars on Dec. 5, 2021. In the image of the surface – taken by MRO's High Resolution Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera – Ingenuity's flight path is depicted in yellow. Perseverance's location is indicated in the upper left, with the blue line delineating its line of sight to the helicopter's landing spot. The location of the tallest point on Mars' surface between rover and helicopter during its final descent is the hill near the center of image that the Perseverance science team has nicknamed "Bras," after a city in France. The topographic map below the orbital image provides the elevation of surface features along the blue line, or Perseverance's line of sight to helicopter. The height measurements to the left of the map are derived by comparing local elevations to the areoid (a model for an equipotential surface of Mars, analogous to "sea level" on Earth). The Ingenuity team believes the 13-foot (4-meter) height difference between the Perseverance rover and the top of Bras contributed to the loss of communications when the helicopter descended toward the surface at the end of its flight. The image's background terrain was generated using data collected by the HiRISE camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24980

This annotated image of Mars' Jezero Crater depicts the ground track and waypoints of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter's planned 11th flight, scheduled to take place no earlier than Aug. 4, 2021. It was generated using terrain imaged by the HiRISE camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The goal of Flight 11 is to move Ingenuity to a new location where it can support the Perseverance rover by obtaining imagery of geologic features in the "South Seí­tah" area. This graphic indicates the helicopter's location at takeoff with a pale blue dot on the lower right; upper-left dots indicate its new landing site. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24690

The location where NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will observe the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter's attempt at powered controlled flight at Mars is called "Van Zyl Overlook," after Jakob van Zyl. Van Zyl was the team's longtime colleague, mentor, and leader at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. He passed away unexpectedly in August 2020, about a month after the launch of Perseverance. Van Zyl joined JPL in 1986 and served in crucial roles at the Lab over a 33-year career, including as director for the Astronomy and Physics Directorate, associate director for project formulation and strategy, and finally director for the Solar System Exploration Directorate. As leader of solar system exploration at JPL, he oversaw successful operations of such NASA missions as Juno, Dawn, and Cassini, the implementation of the Mars InSight lander and MarCO CubeSats, as well as ongoing development of Europa Clipper, Psyche, and all of JPL's instruments and Ingenuity. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24435

This video combines two perspectives of the 59th flight of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. The frame on the left shows video from NASA's Perseverance Mars rover; the frame on the right is footage taken by Ingenuity's downward-pointing black-and-white Navigation Camera, or Navcam, with the helicopter's shadow visible on the Martian surface. The 142-second flight, which took place on Sept 16, 2023, was intended to check Martian wind patterns. The rotorcraft hovered at different altitudes: 13 feet (4 meters), 26 feet (8 meters), 39 feet (12 meters), 52 feet (16 meters), and 66 feet (20 meters). The highest altitude achieved in this flight was at that time a record for Ingenuity. The helicopter also demonstrated during Flight 59 that it could land at speeds 25% slower than originally designed. The video clip from Perseverance was captured by the rover's Mastcam-Z imager from about 180 feet (55 meters) away. Shown here is an enhanced-color view that exaggerates subtle color differences in the scene to show more detail. The inset video shows black-and-white imagery taken by Ingenuity's downward-pointing Navigation Camera (Navcam) during the flight. The video ends shortly after the helicopter's final hover at 13 feet (4 meters) as it begins its final descent to the surface. 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. Movies available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26078

This image shows a test flight of a full-scale prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. The flight took place on May 31, 2016, in the 25-foot-wide, 85-foot-tall (8-meter-by-26-meter) Space Simulator Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The flight was the first demonstration that powered-controlled flight could be successfully executed in Mars-like conditions. The simulator's vacuum chamber allows engineers to test spacecraft and components in conditions like those they would face on Mars. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26233

Members of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter team stand next to the Collier Trophy during the Robert J. Collier Dinner in Washington on June 9, 2022. The team was awarded the 2021 Collier Trophy "for the first powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet, thereby opening the skies of Mars and other worlds for future scientific discovery and exploration," the award citation states. From left to right: Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity team lead at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Bob Balaram, Ingenuity emeritus chief engineer at JPL; MiMi Aung, former Ingenuity project manager at JPL; Bobby Braun, former director for Planetary Science at JPL; Larry James, deputy director at JPL; Håvard Grip, Ingenuity chief pilot at JPL. This historic trophy – which is on permanent display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington – is awarded annually by the National Aeronautic Association "for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year." https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25323

This image of Ingenuity was taken on May 23, 2021 – the day after its sixth flight – by the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard the Perseverance Mars rover. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24599

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter took these images using its navigation camera during its eighth flight on June 21, 2021. Movie available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24721

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter takes off and lands in this video captured on April 19, 2021, by Mastcam-Z, an imager aboard NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. This video features only the moments of takeoff and the landing and not footage of the helicopter hovering for about 30 seconds. 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. Movie available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24583

This animation shows the progress of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover and its Ingenuity Mars Helicopter as they make the climb up Jezero Crater's delta toward ancient river deposits. The helicopter's route is depicted in green, while the rover's progress is shown in orange. Black labels indicate which day, or sol, of the mission the rover and helicopter were on at each point. (Martian sols are counted from the date the Perseverance rover landed on Mars, Feb. 18, 2021). For the helicopter, the black labels also indicate which flight is shown; depicted here are Ingenuity's 42nd (F42) to 46th (F46) sorties. The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which also manages the project for NASA Headquarters. It is supported by NASA's Science Mission Directorate. NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley, and NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, provided significant flight performance analysis and technical assistance during Ingenuity’s development. AeroVironment Inc., Qualcomm, and SolAero also provided design assistance and major vehicle components. Lockheed Martin Space designed and manufactured the Mars Helicopter Delivery System. 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. Animation available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25687

The downward-looking navigation camera aboard NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter took this image of the rotorcraft's shadow on the surface of Jezero Crater during helicopter's second experimental test flight on April 22, 2021. The helicopter's navigation camera autonomously tracks the ground during flight. 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. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24592

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter does a slow spin test of its blades on April 8, 2021, the 48th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. This image was captured by the Mastcam-Z on NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. 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. Movie avaiable at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24582

This sequence of images – taken on May 22, 2021, by the navigation camera aboard NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter – depicts the last 29 seconds of the rotorcraft's sixth flight. Frame rate is 3.3 frames per second until Ingenuity began its final descent to the surface, at which point it collected a frame every two seconds. Movie available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24598

This image of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover – visible at the top, right of center – was taken by the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 54th flight on Aug. 3, 2023, 872nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. At the time the image was taken, the helicopter was at an altitude of about 16 feet (5 meters). https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25969

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover is visible in the upper left corner of this image the agency's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter took during its third flight, on April 25, 2021. The helicopter was flying at an altitude of 16 feet (5 meters) and roughly 279 feet (85 meters) from the rover at the time. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24625

NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter captured this view of its "footprints" during Flight 66 on Nov. 3, 2023. The helicopter was being repositioned to the spot where it will spend several weeks during Mars solar conjunction. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26049

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is seen here at the starting point of its 47th flight on Mars. This video shows the dust initially kicked up by the helicopter's spinning rotors, as well as Ingenuity taking off, hovering, and beginning its 1,444-foot (440-meter) journey to the southwest. The rotorcraft landed – off camera – at Airfield "Iota." The video was captured by the Mastcam-Z imager aboard NASA's Perseverance rover on March 9, 2023. At the time the video was taken, the rover was about 394 feet (120 meters) from the helicopter. Animation available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25686

Ingenuity team lead Josh Anderson (seated left) and project manager Teddy Tzanetos (seated center) react during during the final shift for engineers working on NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on April 16, 2024. The team gathered to review a transmission from the helicopter that confirmed the operation of a software patch allowing Ingenuity to act as a stationary testbed and collect data that could benefit future explorers of the Red Planet. Originally designed as short-lived technology demonstration mission that would perform up to five experimental test flights over 30 days, the first aircraft on another world operated from the Martian surface for almost three years, flew more than 14 times farther than planned, and logged more than two hours of total flight time. Its 72nd and final flight was Jan. 18, 2024. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26315

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter captured this view of an area the Mars Perseverance rover team calls "Raised Ridges" during its 10th flight at Mars on July 24, 2021. The images of the geologic feature were taken at the request of the Mars Perseverance rover science team, which was considering visiting the ridges during the first science campaign. On Earth, similar fractures in desert environments might be a clue to past liquid water activity and thus past habitability. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24689

One of the Navcam imagers aboard NASA's Perseverance Mars rover captured the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter on Feb. 26, 2023, the 719th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The helicopter is visible in the upper left of image. Ingenuity had landed there, at "Airfield Theta," on the previous sol at the conclusion of its 46th flight on Mars. At the time this enhanced image was taken, the helicopter was approximately 490 feet (150 meters) from the rover. Figure A is the same enhanced image annotated to indicate the location of the Mars Helicopter in the distance. 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.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25685

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter took these images on its fourth flight, on April 30, 2021, using its navigation camera. The camera, which tracks surface features below the helicopter, takes images at a rate at which the helicopter's blades appear frozen in place, despite making 21 full rotations in-between each image. In flight, the blades spin at 2,537 rpm. The images are aligned entirely using Ingenuity's on-board position tracking system highlighting the stability and accuracy of the navigation algorithm. Movie available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24630

The upper swashplate of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter controls the pitch of the upper rotor blades as they rotate and is critical to stable, controlled flight. The swashplate is driven by three small servo motors. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24812

Members of the public met with NASA Mars team members and saw the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter models up close during a "Roving With Perseverance" tour stop at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25640

After its 72nd flight on Jan. 18, 2024, NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter captured this color image showing the shadow of a rotor blade damaged during a rough landing. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26243

This map shows the locations of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover and its Ingenuity Mars Helicopter in the sols (Martian days) leading up to the helicopter's 50th flight. The helicopter icon can be seen in the upper left. The rover is shown with a red dot in places where communications with the helicopter were impossible. The rover is shown with a yellow dot at its location when the Flight 50 prep sequence was transferred from rover to helicopter. The rover is shown with a green dot at its nearest point to the helicopter before Flight 50 was executed. Ingenuity's 49th flight occurred on April 2, 2023, the 752nd Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission. The 50th flight occurred April 13, 2023, the 763rd Martian sol of the mission. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25961

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter flew over these sand dunes and rocks during its ninth flight, on July 5, 2021, the 133rd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. This sand is too risky for NASA's Perseverance Mars rover to visit (it could get stuck), but scientists are still able to learn about this region by studying it from Ingenuity's images. A portion of the helicopter's landing gear can be seen at top left, and its shadow is visible bottom center. 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. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24726

Members of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter team at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory react to data showing that the helicopter completed its second flight on the Red Planet on April 22, 2021. 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. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24597

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter took this shot, capturing its own shadow, while hovering over the Martian surface on April 19, 2021, during the first instance of powered, controlled flight on another planet. It used its navigation camera, which autonomously tracks the ground during flight. 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. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24584

A small piece of foreign object debris (FOD) is seen in footage from the navigation camera of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 33rd flight on Mars on Sept 24, 2022. The FOD is seen attached to one of the rotorcraft's landing legs, then drifting away. Movie available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25331

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter acquired this image in the northwest portion of a region of Mars known as "Séítah" using its high-resolution color camera during its 20th flight on Feb. 25, 2022. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25079

In this footage captured by the Mastcam-Z imager aboard the Perseverance Mars rover on April 19, 2021, the agency's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter lifts of from the Martian surface, hovers for 30 seconds, then touches back down. Lasting a total of 39.1 seconds, the flight marks the first instance of powered, controlled flight on another planet. The solar-powered helicopter first became airborne at 3:34 a.m. EDT (12:34 a.m. PDT) — 12:33 Local Mean Solar Time (Mars time) — a time the Ingenuity team determined would have optimal energy and flight conditions. Altimeter data indicate Ingenuity climbed to its prescribed maximum altitude of 10 feet (3 meters) and maintained a stable hover for 30 seconds. It then descended. Flying in a controlled manner on Mars is far more difficult than flying on Earth. The Red Planet has significant gravity (about one-third that of Earth's), but its atmosphere is just 1% as dense as Earth's at the surface. Stitched together from multiple images, the mosaic is not white balanced; instead, it is displayed in a preliminary calibrated version of a natural-color composite, approximately simulating the colors of the scene as it would appear on Mars. Arizona State University in Tempe leads the operations of the Mastcam-Z instrument, working in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego. 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. Movie available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24521

The chief pilot for NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, Håvard Grip, speaks at the Robert J. Collier Dinner in Washington on June 9, 2022. The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter team was awarded the 2021 Collier Trophy "for the first powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet, thereby opening the skies of Mars and other worlds for future scientific discovery and exploration," the award citation states. This historic trophy – which is on permanent display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington – is awarded annually by the National Aeronautic Association "for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year." https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25216

This image shows the "South Séítah" region of Jezero Crater, captured by NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 11th flight on August 4, 2021. At the bottom center of the image is Ingenuity's shadow. Above it, toward the top of the frame – just beyond the dune field and right of center – is the Perseverance rover (the bright white dot). https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24793

This image sand dunes, boulders, and rocky outcrops of the "South Séítah" region of Mars' Jezero Crater was captured by NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 12th flight, on August 16, 2021. Ingenuity's shadow is visible in the lower third of the image, just right of center. A portion of the foot on one of the helicopter's four landing legs is visible along the upper-left edge of the image. In the upper-right corner (arching toward the top middle of the image) is a ridgeline that is of interest to the Perseverance rover science team. Taken from an altitude of 33 feet (10 meters), the image is one of 10 collected during the flight at the request of the Mars Perseverance rover science team, which is considering whether to explore the location further. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24801

A model of NASA's Mars Science Helicopter concept is shown in this photo. This helicopter concept is a more capable proposed follow-on to NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which arrived at the Red Planet in the belly of the agency's Perseverance rover in February 2021. The six-rotor Mars Science Helicopter could be used during future Mars missions to serve as an aerial scout, carrying between 4.5 and 11 pounds (2 to 5 kilograms) of payload, including science instruments, and studying terrain that rovers can't reach. It remains in early conceptual and design stages. The proposed design is the product of collaboration between JPL, NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley, and AeroVironment Inc. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25661

This illustration shows a conceptual design of a Mars Science Helicopter, a proposed follow-on to NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. Researchers are considering how helicopters could be used in future missions. In addition to scouting, such a helicopter could carry science instruments to study terrain rovers can't reach. The proposed design is the product of collaboration between NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, and AeroVironment, Inc. A helicopter with this particular design could carry 4.5 to 11 pounds (2-5 kilograms) of science payload. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24729

Vaneeza Rupani (inset), a junior at Tuscaloosa County High School in Northport, Alabama, came up with the name Ingenuity for NASA's Mars Helicopter (an artist's impression of which is seen here) and the motivation behind it for NASA's "Name the Rover" essay contest. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23883

This graphic shows the general activities the team behind NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter hopes to accomplish on a given test flight on the Red Planet. The helicopter will have 31 Earth days (30 sols, or Martian days) for its test flight program. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24496

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter captured this view on Nov. 3, 2023, of its parking spot during Mars solar conjunction – a period when the Sun is between Earth and Mars, limiting communications. Ingenuity will use its color camera during this period to take time-lapse images of sand grains to learn more about how they move on the Red Planet. In the upper left of the image, one of the helicopter's legs is visible just out of frame. Just to the right of that is one of several "footprints" made before the helicopter lifted off on a previous flight to reposition itself. During conjunction, hot, ionized gas being expelled from the Sun's corona can potentially corrupt radio signals sent from Earth to NASA's fleet of Mars spacecraft, leading to unexpected behaviors. So, during this time, engineers don't send any commands, but the spacecraft do send their health data back to Earth. After conjunction, scientists will look through Ingenuity's imagery and see if any sand grains were blown by the wind. They plan to correlate this imagery with weather data collected by NASA's Perseverance rover, which is parked 3,471 feet (1,058 meters) away during conjunction. Wind and sand are major drivers of change on the Martian landscape, and scientists hope they will better understand these processes by studying the wind strength needed to lift sand particles. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26050

This image of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was taken by the Mastcam-Z instrument of the Perseverance rover on June 15, 2021, the 114th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The location, "Airfield D" (the fourth airfield), is just east of the "Séítah" geologic unit. The image has been processed from the original version. Ingenuity was built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which also manages the project for NASA Headquarters. It is supported by NASA's Science Mission Directorate. NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley, and NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, provided significant flight performance analysis and technical assistance during Ingenuity's development. AeroVironment Inc., Qualcomm, and SolAero also provided design assistance and major vehicle components. Lockheed Martin Space designed and manufactured the Mars Helicopter Delivery System. 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. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25213

This annotated graphic depicts the orientation of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover during the 17th flight of the agency's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter on Dec. 5, 2021. A green dot on the rover, toward the top center of the frame, indicates the location of the Mars Helicopter Base Station antenna on Perseverance, which sends radio signals to and receives them from the rotorcraft. The red line depicts the line of sight to the helicopter during the final moments of Flight 17. Perseverance's power source, the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG), is at the back of the rover, on the right. It angles above the antenna, impeding direct communications between the rover and helicopter as the rotorcraft descended toward the surface at the end of the flight. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24966

This image of Perseverance's backshell and parachute was collected from an altitude of 26 feet (8 meters) by the NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 26th flight on Mars on April 19, 2022. The parachute and cone-shaped backshell protected the rover during its fiery descent toward the Martian surface on Feb. 18, 2021. Engineers working on the Mars Sample Return program requested images be taken of the components from an aerial perspective because they may provide insight into the components' performance during the rover's entry, descent, and landing. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25217

Ingenuity team lead Josh Anderson celebrates with Perseverance rover deputy project manager Steve Lee during the final shift for engineers working on NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on April 16, 2024. The team for the first aircraft on another world gathered to review a transmission that confirmed a software patch allowing Ingenuity to act as a stationary testbed and collect data that could benefit future explorers of the Red Planet. Originally designed as short-lived technology demonstration mission that would perform up to five experimental test flights over 30 days, the first aircraft on another world operated from the Martian surface for almost three years, flew more than 14 times farther than planned, and logged more than two hours of total flight time. Its 72nd and final flight was Jan. 18, 2024. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26317

This graphic depicts the most likely scenario for the hard landing NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter took during its 72nd and final flight on Jan. 18, 2024. Engineers at JPL and AeroVironment, which collaborated with NASA on the helicopter's design and development, are completing a detailed assessment of the final flight that will be published as an agency technical report. Flight 72 was planned as a brief vertical hop to assess Ingenuity's flight systems and photograph the surrounding area. Data from the flight shows Ingenuity climbing to 40 feet (12 meters), hovering, and capturing images. It initiated its descent at 19 seconds, and by 32 seconds the helicopter was back on the surface and had halted communications. The assessment describes the mostly likely scenario for Flight 72, as follows. Lack of suitable features on the planet's surface for the helicopter's navigation system to track resulted in high horizontal velocities at the time the helicopter touched down. This caused a hard impact on a sloping sand ripple, making Ingenuity pitch and roll. The rapid attitude change resulted in loads on the fast-rotating rotor blades beyond their design limits, snapping all four of them off at their weakest point – about a third of the way from the tip. The damaged blades caused excessive vibration in the rotor system, ripping the remainder of one blade from its root and generating an excessive power demand that resulted in loss of communications. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26482

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover and Ingenuity helicopter were spotted on the surface of the Red Planet in this black-and-white image captured Feb. 26, 2022, by the HiRISE camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The rover is viewed here sitting on fractured bedrock of the "Máaz" formation before its long drive to the Jezero Crater's delta. About 656 feet (200 meters) to the left is the Ingenuity helicopter, which is so small that it appears as a mere dot on the landscape. 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. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25174

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter hovers over the Martian surface — the first instance of powered, controlled flight on another planet — as viewed by the Mastcam-Z imager aboard the Perseverance Mars rover on April 19, 2021. The solar-powered helicopter first became airborne at 3:34 a.m. EDT (12:34 a.m. PDT) — 12:33 Local Mean Solar Time (Mars time) — a time the Ingenuity team determined would have optimal energy and flight conditions. Altimeter data indicate Ingenuity climbed to its prescribed maximum altitude of 10 feet (3 meters) and maintained a stable hover for 30 seconds. It then descended, touching back down on the surface of Mars after logging a total of 39.1 seconds of flight. Flying in a controlled manner on Mars is far more difficult than flying on Earth. The Red Planet has significant gravity (about one-third that of Earth's), but its atmosphere is just 1% as dense as Earth's at the surface. Stitched together from multiple images, the mosaic is not white balanced; instead, it is displayed in a preliminary calibrated version of a natural-color composite, approximately simulating the colors of the scene as it would appear on Mars. Arizona State University in Tempe leads the operations of the Mastcam-Z instrument, working in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego. 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. Movie available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24590

Students Alex Mather, at left, and Vaneeza Rupani, stand near the countdown clock at the News Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 28, 2020. Mather named the Perseverance rover, and Rupani named the Ingenuity helicopter. The rover is scheduled to launch July 30, on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The rover is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. The rover will search for habitable conditions in the ancient past and signs of past microbial life on Mars. The Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch management.

Students Alex Mather, at left, and Vaneeza Rupani, stand near the countdown clock at the News Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 28, 2020. Mather named the Perseverance rover, and Rupani named the Ingenuity helicopter. The rover is scheduled to launch July 30, on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The rover is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. The rover will search for habitable conditions in the ancient past and signs of past microbial life on Mars. The Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch management.

This annotated image of Mars' Jezero Crater depicts the ground track and waypoints of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter's planned tenth flight, scheduled to take place no earlier than Saturday, July 24. The image was generated using terrain imaged by the HiRISE camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The goal of Flight 10 is to obtain 3D imagery of geologic features that are of interest to the agency's Perseverance rover science team. The pale-blue dots indicate mission waypoints. The first and last waypoints provide takeoff and landing locations. Waypoints 2 through 9 indicate where Ingenuity's color Return to Earth (RTE) camera will take pictures that could be made into stereo images. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24687

This sequence of images from takeoff to landing was taken by the downward-looking navigation camera of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its ninth flight on Mars on July 5, 2021. The flight was the helicopter's longest in duration and distance to date – 2 minutes, 46 seconds and 2,051 feet (625 meters), respectively. Movie available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24686