Rotorcraft
NASA Readies Mars Helicopter for First Flight
NASA Ingenuity helicopter could fly on Mars sometime in early April.
NASA's  Ingenuity helicopter is expected to fly on Mars in the next few weeks (Image: NASA)
NASA's Ingenuity helicopter is expected to fly on Mars in the next few weeks (Image: NASA)

NASA's $80 million, four-pound Ingenuity Mars helicopter could fly by early April, the agency said this week. However, the miniature rotorcraft first needs to be successfully separated from the Perseverance surface rover and complete a complicated series of preflight tests, including spooling up the composite coaxial rotor system to 2,537 rpm. That entire process is expected to last several days.


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