![]() Ingenuity, seen before its release from the belly of the Perseverance Mars rover. An artist's concept of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter flying through the red planet's skies. The first of up to five test flights is expected within the next several days. This set is packed with features for kids to explore as they learn about Perseverance and its companion helicopter Ingenuity. Among the brand new technology is a drone that is set to be the first ever to fly on another planet. A view of the Ingenuity helicopter, standing alone on the surface of Mars after its release from the belly of the Perseverance rover. Ingenuity’s “Wright brothers moment,” its first test flight, is expected between 8 and 11 April. Appropriately, the small copter is carrying a postage stamp-size bit of fabric from the Wright brothers’ first airplane. After carefully monitored battery charging and tests of the communications links between Ingenuity and Perseverance, the drone’s twin rotors will be unlocked for the first in a series of 90-second test flights to determine the feasibility of powered flight in the martian atmosphere. The drone then was released 3 April, dropping 10 centimeters (4 inches) to the ground, and Perseverance backed away. ![]() The shield, which protected the drone from rocks kicked up during Perseverance’s landing 18 February, was discarded after touchdown and the landing legs extended as seen in photographs from one of the rover’s two dozen cameras. The 1.8-kilogram (4-pound) dual-rotor drone was carried to Mars with its landing legs folded, nestled to the belly of the rover behind a protective shield. The Ingenuity helicopter on Mars, sitting where the Perseverance rover dropped it. ![]() Ingenuity, the $80 million drone carried to Mars attached to the Perseverance rover, is being prepared for a long-awaited test flight in the red planet’s cold, ultra-thin atmosphere. NASAs Mars helicopter has now flown successfully 8 times, beaming back photos that look like a sci-fi film.
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