Perseverance and Ingenuity

Close-up image of the Perseverance rover taken by the Perseverance rover on Mars.

The latest rover to land on Mars, Perseverance is exploring ancient lake and delta deposits to determine what the ancient lake was like and whether there are any preserved biosignatures related to life on Mars.

Nickname: Percy

A small helicopter sits at idle on a rocky surface.

Independent of the rover’s science mission, this helicopter made the first powered, controlled flight on another planet. While Mars has lower gravity at about one-third that of Earth, its atmosphere is only one percent as dense, which makes the helicopter’s task of getting off the ground much more difficult.

Nickname: Ginny

Perseverance

This blog post was published in 2021 before Perseverance landed.

This blog post was published in 2020 before Perseverance landed.

This blog post was published in February 2022.

Ingenuity

This blog post was published in April 2021.

This blog post was published in October 2021.

This blog post was published in April 2022.

At the Museum

In May 2016, the prototype Mars helicopter achieved the first powered, controlled free flight in simulated Mars atmospheric conditions. The test took place inside NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab's Space Simulator, a 25-foot-wide vacuum chamber that had been evacuated and backfilled with a thin carbon dioxide atmosphere similar to that found on Mars.

The prototype is now in the Museum's collection.

More About Mars

More About

Mars

“Is there life on Mars?” is a question people have asked for more than a century. But in order to finally get the answer, we have to know what to look for and where to go on the planet to look for evidence of past life.

We’ve been exploring Mars with robotics since 1975—with landers, rovers, and a helicopter.

How have we imagined travelling to Mars? Check out this literary mix-tape of how travelling to Mars has been portrayed in science fiction.

A selection of some of our favorite AirSpace podcast episodes about the Red Planet.

Educational Videos

STEM in 30

These clips and 30-minute full episodes are designed for middle school students to explore aviation and space topics.

An enhanced-color image of Jezero Crater on Mars

A rending of a six wheeled rover with a camera affixed to a "neck" giving it an anthropomorphized appearance. On the orange ground around the rover, there are white tubes.

Watch the Full Episode

#EZScience

Join NASA’s Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen and the Smithsonian’s Dr. Ellen Stofan to talk about Perseverance in these short (less than 7 minute) videos recorded in 2020, before Perseverance landed on Mars.

A simulated image of Mars' surface featuring dunes and a large flat valley.

Three people in white protective suits work on rover

A low angle image of a rocket holding Perseverance launching. You can see fire from the blast.

An illustration of Perseverance scanning a rock on Mars

What's New in Aerospace Full Episodes

Join experts from the Museum and in different aerospace fields to discuss what’s happening at the moment in air and space.

Smoke and dusk billows out as a rocket launches, juxtaposed against a blue background.

Recorded in July 2020

An artists illustration showing the Perseverance rover being lowered by a hovering device.

Recorded in February 2021

Story Time for Young Learners

In "Flights of Fancy Storytime Online," the National Air and Space Museum offers stories for young children and their families inspired by our collection of air and space objects and historic photos. Educators Ann Caspari and Diane Kidd will tell stories, do sketches, and demonstrate crafts that you can enjoy together at home.

More Educational Resources

One museum, two locations

At the museum and online

Dive deep into air and space

For teachers and parents

Be the spark

Mars Rover Perseverance and Helicopter Ingenuity