NASA has rescheduled the first flight of its Ingenuity Mars helicopter to April 19th at 3:30AM ET, the agency announced Saturday.
The four-pound helicopter that arrived on Mars on February 18th with its parent rover Perseverance has seen its first flight delayed a few times. It touched the surface of Mars on April 4th, and has been undergoing tests and checkouts. It survived its first night alone on Mars’ frigid surface, passing a first test of its independence from Perseverance.
The mission team had originally hoped to fly Ingenuity on April 11th, but a command sequence problem on April 9th led it to push the flight back. NASA just recently completed a spin test for the helicopter.
The flight will only be a 30-second hover meant to verify that the aircraft can fly in the first place. You’ll have to wait until the four successor flights to see it roam the Mars surface. It will still represent a historic moment if all goes according to plan, though. It’s not surprising that NASA is cautious as a result there’s a lot riding on this mission besides the fate of a small drone.
