A ground-breaking rover (literally it collects rocks) and a record-breaking helicopter are the newest residents of Mars since landing in 2021.
Perseverance, the rover, seeks signs of ancient life and collect rock samples that may later be returned to Earth.
Ingenuity, the helicopter, made the first powered flight on another planet and went on to explore the Red Planet for almost three years.
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
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
Landed on Mars: February 18, 2021
Size: Car sized, 10 feet long (not including the arm), 9 feet wide, 7 feet tall
Earth weight: 2,260 pounds
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
First Flight: April 19, 2021
Last Flight: January 18, 2024
Air Time: 72 flights completing 128.8 flying minutes covering 10.5 miles
Size: Less than 2 feet tall, with rotors stretching about 4 feet
Earth weight: About 4 pounds
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
“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.
#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.
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.
Recorded in July 2020
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.