Context: NASA's Ingenuity mini-helicopter has been dropped on the surface of Mars in preparation for its first flight.
About Ingenuity:
The ultra-light aircraft had been fixed to the belly of the Perseverance rover, which touched down on the Red Planet on February 18.
It had been feeding off the Perseverance's power system but will now have to use its own battery to run a vital heater to protect its unshielded electrical components from freezing and cracking during the bitter Martian night.
Ingenuity will be attempting to fly in an atmosphere that is one percent the density of Earth's, which makes achieving lift harder — but will be assisted by gravity that is one-third of our planet's.
Ingenuity will be taking high-resolution photography as it flies. Up to five flights of gradual difficulty are planned over the month.
Future aircraft could cover ground much quicker than rovers, and explore more rugged terrain.
