Mars    Helicopter

Status Updates

May 26, 2023
 Hide and Seek
 Written by Travis Brown, Chief Engineer Ingenuity Mars Helicopter at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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.

'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...
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April 25, 2023
 Flight 52 Preview – By the Numbers
 Written by NASA/JPL
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.
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. Download image ›
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
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April 17, 2023
 Flight 51 Preview – By the Numbers
 Written by NASA/JPL
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.
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 
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April 04, 2023
 Flight 50 Preview – By the Numbers
 Written by NASA/JPL
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.
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
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March 28, 2023
 Flight 49 Preview – By the Numbers
 Written by NASA/JPL
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.
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
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March 23, 2023
 The Race Is On
 Written by Travis Brown, Chief Engineer Ingenuity Mars Helicopter at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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.
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. Download image ›
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...
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March 16, 2023
 Flight 48 Preview – By the Numbers
 Written by NASA/JPL
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
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March 09, 2023
 Flight 47 Preview – By the Numbers
 Written by NASA/JPL
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.
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
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February 24, 2023
 Flight 46 Preview – By the Numbers
 Written by NASA/JPL
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.
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
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February 21, 2023
 Flight 45 Preview – By the Numbers
 Written by NASA/JPL
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.
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
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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+

  • Ben Morrell
    Ingenuity Operations Engineer, NASA/JPL
  • Bob Balaram
    Chief Engineer for the Mars Helicopter Project, NASA/JPL
  • David Agle
    Media Representative, NASA/JPL
  • Håvard Grip
    Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Chief Pilot, NASA/JPL
  • Jaakko Karras
    Ingenuity Chief Engineer, NASA/JPL
  • Josh Ravich
    Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Mechanical Engineering Lead, NASA/JPL
  • Joshua Anderson
    Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Operations Lead, NASA/JPL
  • Martin Cacan
    Ingenuity Pilot, NASA/JPL
  • MiMi Aung
    Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Project Manager, NASA/JPL
  • Teddy Tzanetos
    Ingenuity Team Lead, NASA/JPL
  • Travis Brown
    Chief Engineer Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, NASA/JPL

Where is the Mars Helicopter?

Image of a rover pin-point at Perseverance's location on Mars, Jezero Crater

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Raw Images

Image taken by Ingenuity Helicopter on Mars

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