Without new landers or rovers, it's helicopters or bust for NASA's Mars program
Summary
NASA is focusing on flying helicopters on Mars instead of sending new landers or rovers in the near future. The SkyFall mission will launch three helicopters around 2028 to explore Mars from the air, building on the success of the earlier Ingenuity helicopter.Key Facts
- NASA has no firm plans to send new landers or rovers to Mars in the near future, focusing on aerial drones instead.
- The SkyFall mission will send three helicopters to Mars around late 2028.
- SkyFall helicopters will launch with the Space Reactor-1 "Freedom" mission, which tests nuclear electric propulsion.
- The SkyFall helicopters are based on the Ingenuity helicopter design but will be larger and carry scientific equipment.
- Ingenuity flew 72 times on Mars before crashing in early 2024, far exceeding its initial goal of five flights.
- AeroVironment and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) are working together to design and build the SkyFall helicopters.
- SkyFall helicopters will have better communication capabilities, using orbiters to send and receive data directly.
- The helicopters will carry cameras, sensors, and ground-penetrating radar to study Mars' atmosphere and search for ice beneath the surface.
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