NASA Mars Helicopter Speed ​​First Flight: When Will It Fly, How to Watch

This story is part of Welcome to Mars, our series exploring the red planet.

Let’s take a moment to marvel at the phrase “the first powered, controlled flight on another planet.” NASA hopes to reach that important milestone as soon as Monday, April 19th with the Speed ​​Helicopter on Mars.

The small rotorcraft has a ride to Mars under the belly of the Perseverance Rover, which drop it on the surface about a week ago. The two machines posed for a photo together. The wanderer will witness Ingenuity’s efforts to get off the ground.

The flight attempt was delayed from the original target date of 11 April NASA time to update machine software after a rotation test of the rotors ended too early. The helicopter has since successfully completed a rapid turn test, an important milestone that puts it closer to lifting.

The agency will stream the coverage of Ingenuity’s first flight on NASA TV. If all goes well, the helicopter will attempt to fly PT around 12:30 on Monday and NASA will start its live stream at 03:15 PT. “The data of the first flight will return a few hours after the autonomous flight to Earth,” the space agency said in a statement on Saturday.

It would not be like watching a sporting event with live footage, but the NASA team hopes to get results that point to a successful glider. An in-flight information session is then scheduled for 11:00 PT.

“The rover will provide support during flight operations, take photos, collect environmental data and provide the base station that enables the helicopter to communicate with mission controllers on Earth,” NASA said in a statement.

NASA highlighted how Ingenuity is a high-risk, high-reward technology demonstration. It will be exciting if it works, but not shocking if it does not work. If the first flight goes well, more efforts will follow. NASA has set the planned test flight period to 31 Earth days.

There’s a lucky talisman for the ride. Ingenuity has a little piece of the famous Flyer of the Wright Brothers attached to it, and draws a direct line between making aviation history on both Earth and Mars.

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