Mars Helicopter
Status Updates
May 26, 2023
Hide and Seek
Hide and Seek
'Castell Henllys' From Above: This color-enhanced image from the helicopter shows the “Castell Henylls” region in Jezero Crater on Mars. This image and others taken during Flight 48 provided advanced reconnaissance to scientists and rover planners roughly two weeks before Perseverance reached this area. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Download image ›
Even before the end of Ingenuity’s primary mission as a technology demonstrator, the helicopter showed that it could provide tactical and scientific scouting for the Perseverance mission. In practice, this hasn’t always been possible, but Ingenuity has indeed proven its worth on more than a few occasions over the course of the mission. As mentioned in a previous post, the team was looking forwa...
April 25, 2023
Flight 52 Preview – By the Numbers
Flight 52 Preview – By the Numbers
Mars Helicopter Sol 772 - Navigation Camera: NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter acquired this image using its navigation camera. This camera is mounted in the helicopter's fuselage and pointed directly downward to track the ground during flight. This image was acquired on April 23, 2023 (Sol 772 of the Perseverance rover mission) at the local mean solar time of 15:23:55. This was the date of Ingenuity's 51st flight.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
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Flight 52
Expected Flight date: 04/26/2023
Horizontal flight distance: 1191.522 feet (363.176 meters)
Flight time: 138.88 seconds
Flight altitude: 40 feet (12 meters)
Heading: West
Max Flight speed: 8.3 mph (3.7 meters per second)
Goal of flight: 1) Reposition of the helicopter, 2) imaging targets
April 17, 2023
Flight 51 Preview – By the Numbers
Flight 51 Preview – By the Numbers
Mars Helicopter Sol 763 - Navigation Camera: NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter acquired this image using its navigation camera. This camera is mounted in the helicopter's fuselage and pointed directly downward to track the ground during flight. This image was acquired on April 13, 2023 (Sol 763 of the Perseverance rover mission) at the local mean solar time of 15:07:40. This was the date of Ingenuity's 50th flight.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
Download image ›
Flight 51
Expected Flight date: 4/18/2023
Horizontal flight distance: 592.6 feet (180.623 meters)
Flight time: 130.32 seconds
Flight altitude: 40 feet (12 meters)
Heading: West
Max Flight speed: 9 mph (4 meters per second)
Goal of flight: 1) Reposition of the helicopter, 2) imaging targets
April 04, 2023
Flight 50 Preview – By the Numbers
Flight 50 Preview – By the Numbers
Mars Helicopter Sol 752 - Navigation Camera: NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter acquired this image using its navigation camera. This camera is mounted in the helicopter's fuselage and pointed directly downward to track the ground during flight. This image was acquired on April 2, 2023 (Sol 752 of the Perseverance rover mission).
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
Download image ›
Flight: 50
Expected Flight date: 04/05/2023
Horizontal distance: 1,005.3 feet (306.4 meters)
Flight time: 138.58 seconds
Max Altitude: 40 feet (12 meters) during flight – with 59 feet (18 meter) pop-up at the end
Heading: Northwest
Flight speed: 10.3 mph (4.6 meters per second)
Goal of flight: Reposition of the helicopter
March 28, 2023
Flight 49 Preview – By the Numbers
Flight 49 Preview – By the Numbers
Mars Helicopter Sol 741 - Color Camera: NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter acquired this image using its high-resolution color camera. This camera is mounted in the helicopter's fuselage and pointed approximately 22 degrees below the horizon. This image was acquired on March 22, 2023 (Sol 741 of the Perseverance rover mission).
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
Download image ›
Flight: 49
Flight date (no earlier than): 03/29/2023
Horizontal distance: feet 893.9 feet (272.5 meters)
Flight time: 135.47 seconds
Max Altitude: 40 feet (12 meters) during flight – with 52.5 (16 meter) pop-up at the end
Heading: Northwest
Max speed: 14.5 mph (6.5 meters per second)
Goal of flight: 1) Reposition of the helicopter, 2) imaging science targets
March 23, 2023
The Race Is On
The Race Is On
Ingenuity and Perseverance Make Tracks: 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.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
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The Perseverance rover spent the first two Earth years of its mission on Mars driving and sampling within Jezero crater. As anticipated, Jezero was found to be rich with interesting geological features, and the rover used 21 of its precious 43 sample tubes in the region. The rover wrapped up this science campaign by dropping 10 of these samples in a backup depot area for retrieval by a future m...
March 16, 2023
Flight 48 Preview – By the Numbers
Flight 48 Preview – By the Numbers
Perseverance's Mastcam-Z Views Ingenuity's 47th Takeoff: NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is seen here at the starting point of its 47th flight on Mars. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS. Download video ›
Flight: 48
Flight date: No earlier than 03/18/2023
Horizontal flight distance: 1,271.7 feet (387.6 meters)
Flight time: 142.36 seconds
Flight altitude: 40 feet (12 meters)
Heading: Northwest
Flight speed: 10.4 mph (4.65 meters per second)
Goal of flight: Reposition of the helicopter and image science targets along the way
March 09, 2023
Flight 47 Preview – By the Numbers
Flight 47 Preview – By the Numbers
Mars Helicopter Sol 714 - Color Camera: NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter acquired this image using its high-resolution color camera. This camera is mounted in the helicopter's fuselage and pointed approximately 22 degrees below the horizon. This image was acquired on Feb. 22, 2023 (Sol 714 of the Perseverance rover mission).
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
Download image ›
Flight: 47
Flight date: No earlier than 03/09/2023
Horizontal flight distance: 1410.728 feet (429.99 meters)
Flight time (nominal, w/ max divert): 138.69 seconds
Flight altitude: 40 feet (12 meters)
Heading: Southwest
Flight speed: 11.9 mph (5.3 meters per second)
Goal of flight: Reposition helicopter & image science targets along the way
February 24, 2023
Flight 46 Preview – By the Numbers
Flight 46 Preview – By the Numbers
Mars Helicopter Sol 714 - Navigation Camera: NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter acquired this image using its navigation camera. This camera is mounted in the helicopter's fuselage and pointed directly downward to track the ground during flight. This image was acquired on Feb. 22, 2023 (Sol 714 of the Perseverance rover mission) at the local mean solar time of 17:08:32. This was the date of Ingenuity's 45th flight.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
Download image ›
Flight: 46
Flight date: No earlier than 02/25/2023
Horizontal flight distance: 1,461 feet (445 meters)
Flight time (nominal, w/ max divert): 136.27 seconds
Flight altitude: 40 feet (12 meters)
Heading: Southwest
Flight speed: 11.9 mph (5.3 meters per second)
Goal of flight: Reposition of the helicopter and scout future airfields
February 21, 2023
Flight 45 Preview – By the Numbers
Flight 45 Preview – By the Numbers
Mars Helicopter Sol 711 - Navigation Camera: NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter acquired this image using its navigation camera. This camera is mounted in the helicopter's fuselage and pointed directly downward to track the ground during flight. This image was acquired on Feb. 19, 2023 (Sol 711 of the Perseverance rover mission) at the local mean solar time of 16:07:23.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
Download image ›
Flight: 45
Flight date: No earlier than 02/22/2023
Horizontal flight distance: 1,614.38 feet (492.063 meters)
Flight time: 139.60 seconds
Flight altitude: 40 feet (12 meters)
Heading: Northwest
Flight speed: 12.3 mph (5.5 meters per second)
Goal of flight: Reposition of the helicopter
About This Blog
These blog updates are provided by the Mars Helicopter team. The Mars Helicopter is a technology demonstration to test the first powered flight on Mars.
Dates of planned test activities are subject to change due to a variety of factors related to the Martian environment, communication relays, helicopter and/or rover status.
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Contributors+
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Ingenuity Operations Engineer, NASA/JPL -
Chief Engineer for the Mars Helicopter Project, NASA/JPL -
Media Representative, NASA/JPL -
Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Chief Pilot, NASA/JPL -
Ingenuity Chief Engineer, NASA/JPL -
Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Mechanical Engineering Lead, NASA/JPL -
Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Operations Lead, NASA/JPL -
Ingenuity Pilot, NASA/JPL -
Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Project Manager, NASA/JPL -
Ingenuity Team Lead, NASA/JPL -
Chief Engineer Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, NASA/JPL