CAPE CANAVERAL: The helicopter that the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) has placed on Mars could make its first flight over the Red Planet within two days after a successful initial test of its rotors, the US space agency said on Friday (Saturday in Manila).
This NASA photo shows the Ingenuity Mars helicopter in a close-up taken by Mastcam-Z, a pair of zoomable cameras aboard the Perseverance rover. This image was taken on April 5, 2021, the 45th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. - NASA is targeting no earlier than Sunday, April 11, for Ingenuity Mars Helicopter’s first attempt at powered, controlled flight on another planet. A livestream confirming Ingenuity’s first flight is targeted to begin around 3:30 a.m. EDT Monday, April 12. (Photo by Handout / NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS