NASA Mars Helicopter Ingenuity Media Reel

B-roll for media. NASA's Mars Helicopter Ingenuity will be the first aircraft to fly in a controlled way on another planet. It will fly to Mars attached to the belly of NASA’s Perseverance rover, part of the Mars 2020 mission.

In April, the Mars helicopter was given the name Ingenuity. This reel includes a conversation between the student whose name was chosen -- Vaneeza Rupani, 17, of Northport, Alabama -- and MiMi Aung, the Mars helicopter project manager based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The Ingenuity helicopter is considered a high-risk, high-reward technology demonstration. If the small craft encounters difficulties, the science-gathering of the Mars 2020 mission won't be impacted. If the helicopter does take flight as designed, future Mars missions could enlist second-generation helicopters to add an aerial dimension to their explorations.

The Perseverance rover, with the Ingenuity helicopter aboard, will launch in July or August 2020 and land on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021.

A separate media reel of animations simulating how the helicopter will operate on Mars is available at https://vimeo.com/412926211/217644ad2b.

For more information on the Mars helicopter, go to: https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter