Not only will NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover be touching down on the red plant this Thursday, but it also brought along a little friend, stored under its belly: the first ever helicopter to visit Mars.
Nicknamed Ingenuity, the 4-pound tiny chopper is actually a test mission for NASA. It will provide an important technology demonstration proving if a future, more expansive mission using similar hardware would work.
Following the 300-million-mile journey and frightful landing on Mars, Ingenuity will be released from the rover’s under carriage for a short term-mission unrelated to its ride Perseverance.
The tiny helicopter has four carbon-fiber blades that spin around 2,400 rpm, way faster than choppers here in Earth, which spin between