Mars Helicopter is Ready for Extraterrestrial Flight
This blog post originated in the 2018 Science Mission Directorate Science and Technology Report. PROJECT Mars Helicopter KEY POINTS The Mars Helicopter is a technology demonstration for the Mars 2020 rover mission, intended to show the feasibility and utility of using helicopters for Mars exploration. This technology may enable future missions to perform reconnaissance or independent science, and to access terrain not reachable by rovers and astronauts. Artist’s concept of the Mars Helicopter, with the Mars 2020 rover in the background. When NASA’s next Mars rover sets out for the Red Planet in 2020, it will bring along a passenger. Nestled under the belly of the rover, the Mars Helicopter will be on a mission to notch a “first” for humankind: flying a helicopter on another planet. By sending the helicopter to Mars as a technology demonstration, NASA aims to expand its exploration capabilities to include an aerial dimension, potentially opening new areas to exploration, and enabling faster...