NASA Helicopter Touches Down on Mars
Ingenuity Lands on Mars Source: NASA Ingenuity Landing on Mars First Helicopter on Another Planet NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity is an aviation wonder. It is the world's first helicopter to land on Mars after being dropped out of its mother ship Perseverance Rover. The final drop was 4 inches and Ingenuity's legs fully deployed. The helicopter's first flight is scheduled for April 11 with data on how its systems performed and what it observed on Mars coming back to NASA on April 12. These history making milestones are occurring 293 million miles away from Earth. Technological Marvel Ingenuity is a technological marvel. It weighs just 4 pounds and unfolds like a butterfly. The vehicle is solar powered and relies on a rechargeable battery to power an internal heater to stay warm during the harshly cold Martian nights that can go down to -130 degrees F. The helicopter interior needs to be about 45 degrees F to preserve the sensitive