In pictures: Helicopter stands on NASA’s development red color scheme
In this illustration, NASA’s shrewd Mars helicopter stands on the surface of the Red Planet, as NASA’s Perseverance Rover (partially visible on the left) turns away.
The tech demonstrator called home from where it is attached to the belly of NASA’s Perseverance Rover.
Mission controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California have received the first status report of an ingenious Mars helicopter flying on Feb. 18, 2021, at the Jezero Crater attached to the agency’s Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover.
The downlink, which arrived at 3:30 p.m. PST via Mars Reconnaissance Bit Rbiter, indicates that both helicopters, which will be attached to the rover for 30 to 60 days, and its base station (the electrical box on the rover) are as expected. Communication of stores and routes between Rotorcraft and Earth continues.
