NASA sets sights on a next-generation Mars helicopter to return Red Planet samples

an illustration of a small robotic helicopter on mars

BRECKENRIDGE, Colorado - Work is now underway to design a new NASA Mars helicopter. 

Thanks to the nearly 50 flights across the Jezero Crater landscape conducted by the Ingenuity Mars helicopter, much has been learned to help soup-up a future rotorcraft for the Red Planet, and there are plenty of add-ons that will be included in the next aerial vehicle that will buzz above the surface of Mars.