Mars Ingenuity Helicopter Flight Notebook

The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is an autonomous aircraft that hitched a ride on the NASA Mars 2020 rover mission expected to land on the Red Planet in February, 2021. Once separated from the Perseverance rover, the Ingenuity Helicopter will take off on its own to explore Mars. It weighs just 4 pounds and uses solar power to spin twin four foot rotors. Two cameras, inertial sensors and a laser altimeter comprise the instrument package. This is a first in space technology that could advance the exploration of other planets and their moons.