Mars Helicopter Installed On Mars Perseverance Rover

NASA’s Mars Helicopter is installed on the agency’s Mars Perseverance rover inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on April 6, 2020.

After Perseverance safely lands on Mars, the helicopter will be released to perform the first in a series of flight tests that will take place during a period of about 30 days. The helicopter will be the first aircraft to fly on another planet.

Perseverance, carrying the helicopter, will touch down on the Red Planet on Feb. 18, 2021. Liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket is targeted between July 17 and Aug. 5 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Photo credit: NASA/JPL Larger image