NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter performed the first powered, controlled flight on another planet on 2021-04-19.
The Ingenuity team planned a second experimental test flight for no earlier than 2021-04-22.
Ingenuity took off at 5:33 a.m. Eastern for a 51.9-second flight during its second Mars flight.
The solar-powered Ingenuity Mars Helicopter first became airborne at 3:34 a.m. EDT (12:34 a.m. PDT) on 2021-04-19, corresponding to 12:33 Local Mean Solar Time at its location on Mars.
Ingenuity was deployed to the surface of Jezero Crater on 2021-04-03.
President Joe Biden joined NASA as the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter took off from the surface of Mars on 2021-04-19, and the White House later released a photo of Biden talking by video with the Ingenuity project team.
NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter performed the first powered aircraft flight on another planet on 2021-04-19.
NASA plans to attempt the first flight of the Mars helicopter Ingenuity early on 2021-04-19.
The command-timing modification was tested on the ground and was used to allow Ingenuity to perform a high-speed rotor test on 2021-04-16.
NASA postponed the first flight attempt of the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars by at least three days after detecting a problem during a final pre-flight test on 2021-04-09.
Before the final pre-flight test issue, Ingenuity had deployed from the underside of Perseverance, charged its batteries using a small solar panel, and briefly tested its rotors at low speed.
Ingenuity’s first flight had been scheduled for the evening of 2021-04-11 but will now take place no earlier than 2021-04-14.
Spacecraft controllers began deploying Ingenuity on 2021-03-21 by jettisoning a cover that protected the vehicle during flight.
Matt Wallace, deputy project manager for Mars 2020 who worked on the Sojourner rover, views Ingenuity as analogous to Sojourner.
Perseverance will drive to a nearby location judged best for the helicopter test and release Ingenuity in a process that takes about 10 days to complete.
NASA will deploy Ingenuity early in the Mars 2020 mission for flight tests after the Perseverance rover lands.
Some scientists on the Mars 2020 team opposed including Ingenuity because they argued the helicopter tests would take time away from rover operations during the mission's initial phases.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket in the 541 configuration launched NASA’s 2020-03-01 mission with Perseverance and Ingenuity on 2020-07-30.