Ingenuity Mars Helicopter

Making Flight Possible on Mars

AV’s team of innovative engineers from our MacCready Works Advanced Solutions team worked with NASA/JPL to design and develop a helicopter carried by the Mars rover, Perseverance. The helicopter’s name is Ingenuity, and its purpose is to demonstrate the viability of aerial robots for planetary exploration.

The vehicles arrived on Mars in February 2021. Within two months of landing on the surface of Mars, and after traveling 330 meters from its landing site, Perseverance deposited Ingenuity onto Martian soil, where it successfully attempted its maiden voyage – The first flight of an aircraft on another celestial body. Its short hop over the surface of the Red Planet marked a giant leap for robotic technology. Since its maiden voyage, Ingenuity has far exceeded expectations by successfully completing 72 flights!

Featured Capabilities:

Space Systems & Resilient Communications

3.97 lbs

1.8 kilograms

Mass
4 pounds on Earth; 1.5 pounds on Mars

1.8 kilograms on Earth; 0.7 kilograms on Mars

Weight
Total length of rotors: ~4 feet tip to tip

Total length of rotors: ~1.2 meters tip to tip

Width
Solar panel charges Lithium-ion battery, providing enough energy for up to 170 seconds of flight time

Solar panel charges Lithium-ion battery, providing enough energy for up to 170 seconds of flight time

Power
Just under 4 feet

Just under 1.2 meters

Blade Span
Up to 2,050 feet

Up to 625 meters

Flight Range
Up to 33 feet

Up to 10 meters

Flight Altitude
Thin atmosphere, less than 1% as dense as Earth’s

Thin atmosphere, less than 1% as dense as Earth’s

Flight Environment