NASA finally has a new flight date for its Mars helicopter after a bug fix was delayed. The space agency now expects to fly Ingenuity no earlier than April 19 around 3:30 p.m. Eastern. Do not worry about staying up all night to follow it. A stream that covers the download of data only starts at 06:15 in the East when everything is going smoothly, and the information session after the flight is only planned at 14:00 East.
The mission team originally hoped to fly Ingenuity on April 11, but a problem with the mission on April 9 led to it pushing the flight back. NASA has just completed a spin test for the helicopter.
The flight will only be a 30-second glide intended to verify that the aircraft can fly in the first place. You have to wait until the four successor flights to see how it runs on the Martian surface. Nevertheless, it will be a historic moment if everything goes according to plan. It is not surprising that NASA is therefore cautious – there is a lot of driving on this mission, except the fate of a small drone.
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