Mars helicopter attached to Perseverance rover ready for July launch

Exciting times as we build up for the launch of NASA's Perseverance rover and its little eye in the sky , Perseverance's "sky crane" descent stage has been fueled and now the helicopter has been attached to the underside of the rover , fingers firmly crossed the sky crane will safely deliver another payload although we'll have to wait till February next year to discover that and May 2021 to see if the chopper works.

"Fueling the descent stage is a big step," Gruel added. "While we will continue to test and evaluate its performance as we move forward with launch preparations, it is now ready to fulfill its mission of placing Perseverance on the surface on Mars."

If all goes according to plan, the helicopter will be deployed in May 2021, 2.5 months after Perseverance's touchdown. The little solar-powered chopper will then conduct a series of short flights during a test campaign that will last up to 30 days.

The Mars Helicopter won't gather any scientific data during these excursions; it carries no instruments. But a successful test campaign could pave the way for extensive aerial exploration of the Red Planet in the not-too-distant future, mission team members have said.
www.space.com...

The little chopper that could , and hopefully will.

For me the most anticipated part of this mission will be hearing the sounds of Mars and the sound of the rover on Mars , Percy is equipped with two microphones so this time there's no excuse ... I want to hear Mars !

Mars goes '"shhhhhhhhhshhhshhshhhhhhhhhshh."
When a dust devil goes by Mars goes, "SHHHSHSHHHHHHHHHSHHSHHHSHHS!"

Neat but we need core samples. Deep deep drilling to understand what happened like a mile down. We are a long way from that happening. Still a valiant effort though. Big things start from small beginnings. Copters would work well to repair or clean rover solar cells.

a reply to: Phage
The accuracy of this comment is investigating hitherto unexplored realms of truth. LOL

Allow me to translate it to plain english:
"Hey you morons, stop crawling all over my surface, I'm trying to sleep and you're making me itch." --Mars

a reply to: gortex

I hope it works-the helicopter looks complicated and fragile.
I think i read that the rotors have a faster RPM than they would need on earth due to the thinner "air" on mars.
So I hope they used high spec motors and found a way to keep any tiny dust particles out.

Looking forward to seeing the photos/videos it takes

a reply to: gortex

They need to get to the glaciers and take water samples.

Then they need to get them back here on earth so that i can inject myself with it.

a reply to: Silcone Synapse

The mars Heli runs on fluoridated coca cola too so it should work a treat , it's a very reliable fuel

originally posted by: Phage
Mars goes '"shhhhhhhhhshhhshhshhhhhhhhhshh."
When a dust devil goes by Mars goes, "SHHHSHSHHHHHHHHHSHHSHHHSHHS!"

I'm pretty sure that Mars goes "bloop (giggles)".

Ok, this event is one I want to see happen so I officially will stay for a while longer on this rock .a reply to: gortex

With such a little atmosphere how does a helicopter drone designed on Earth fly on Mars?

originally posted by: abeverage
With such a little atmosphere how does a helicopter drone designed on Earth fly on Mars?

They tested it in conditions simulating Mars.

The lab, in Pasadena, replicated as closely as possible Mars's thin atmosphere and freezing temperatures, which reach as low as -90°C (-130°F) at night. The vacuum chamber swaps nitrogen, oxygen and other gases for carbon dioxide to mimic the atmosphere of the Red Planet, as well as a gravity offload system.