In 2019, preliminary designs of Ingenuity were tested on Earth in simulated Mars atmospheric and gravity conditions. NASA spent about $80 million to build Ingenuity and about $5 million to operate the helicopter. The helicopter underwent extensive flight-dynamics and environment testing, and was mounted on the underside of the Perseverance rover in August 2019. The United States federal budget, announced in March 2018, provided $23 million for the helicopter for one year, and it was announced on May 11, 2018, that the helicopter could be developed and tested in time to be included in the Mars 2020 mission. Mission integration Īt the time of the approval of the Mars 2020 program in July 2014, a helicopter flight demonstration was neither scoped nor budgeted. īy December 2017, engineering models of the vehicle had been tested in a simulated martian atmosphere and models were undergoing testing in the Arctic, but its inclusion in the mission had not yet been approved or funded.

By mid-2016, $15 million was being requested to continue development of the helicopter. NASA's JPL and AeroVironment published the conceptual design in 2014 for a scout helicopter to accompany a rover. By January 2015, NASA agreed to fund the development of a full-size model, which came to be known as the 'risk reduction' vehicle. The idea for the project drew on prior concept work in the division. The development of the project that would eventually become Ingenuity started in 2012 when JPL director Charles Elachi toured and met with members of the Autonomous Systems Division at JPL. History Concept development The prototype, which for the first time carried out on in a pressure chamber controlled flight in an atmosphere identical to that of Mars As of April 2023, it continues to execute flights, providing science and tactical scouting to Perseverance. In March 2022, NASA announced that it would continue to fly Ingenuity through at least September. The helicopter's performance and resilience greatly exceeded expectations, enabling it to make flights for the remainder of 2021 and into 2022. In its operational role, Ingenuity is observing areas of interest for possible examination by Perseverance. Because radio signals take 5 to 20 minutes to travel between Earth and Mars depending on planetary positions, Ingenuity must operate autonomously, performing maneuvers planned, scripted and transmitted to it by JPL.Īfter the brief demonstration phase, JPL began more operational flights, showing how aerial scouting could aid in the exploration of Mars and other worlds. The flights demonstrated the helicopter's ability to fly in the extremely thin atmosphere of Mars without direct human control. The expected lateral range was exceeded in the third flight, and the flight duration was exceeded in the fourth. On its fourth flight, on April 30, 2021, Ingenuity became the first interplanetary spacecraft whose sound was recorded by another interplanetary spacecraft, Perseverance. Flight success was confirmed three hours later by JPL, which livestreamed a view of mission control receiving the data. Before Ingenuity's first flight, Perseverance drove approximately 100 m (330 ft) away to create a safe flying zone. Butler Landing site in the 28 mi (45 km) wide Jezero crater. It started its mission on Mars at the Octavia E.

The helicopter was intended to perform a 30-day technology demonstration, making five flights at altitudes ranging 3–5 m (10–16 ft) for up to 90 seconds each. Other prominent contributors were Lockheed Martin Space, Qualcomm, and SolAero. Ingenuity was designed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in collaboration with AeroVironment, NASA's Ames Research Center and Langley Research Center. As of its 52nd flight on Ap( UTC), the helicopter has been flightworthy for 737 days. On April 19, it successfully made the first powered controlled extraterrestrial flight by an aircraft, taking off vertically, hovering, and landing for a flight duration of 39.1 seconds. The helicopter was deployed to the surface on April 3, 2021. It is part of NASA's Mars 2020 mission, along with the Perseverance rover, which landed with Ingenuity attached to its underside on February 18, 2021. Ingenuity, also called Ginny, is a small robotic helicopter operating on Mars.

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