Your hands on the hardware

What if we could fly on Mars?

Explore spinning blades and thin air. Try a setting, notice what changes, and meet the real little helicopter behind the experiment.

Illustrative learning tools · not live spacecraft controls

ICAO: IGY · Call Sign: INGENUITY2020-052B · MARS2020H

Ingenuity Mars Helicopter

First powered aircraft on another world · 72 Flights · 17.02 km · Resting at Valinor Hills (Airfield Chi)

First Extraterrestrial Airport

JZRO (Wright Brothers Field)

Jezero Crater, Mars (18.4449° N, 77.4510° E)

Total Distance

17,019 m

10.56 miles across Jezero

Total Air Time

128.8 min

72 Flights (14.4× life)

Peak Altitude

24.0 m

Flight 61 Record (78.7 ft)

Peak Speed

10.0 m/s

22.4 mph / 36 km/h

Mars Aerodynamic Paradox (< 1% Earth Density)

Lift vs. Martian Weight

To lift 1.80 kg on Mars (0.68 kg Martian weight = 6.70 N required thrust) in air equivalent to 30,500 m altitude on Earth.

Generated Lift Thrust

6.7 N

Required (Weight)

6.7 N

Thrust Margin: 0%FLIGHT POSSIBLE

Blade Tip Speed161 m/s~360 mph

Tip Mach NumberMach 0.67Limit: Mach 0.70

Nominal lift margin. Controlled aerodynamic flight possible.

Atmospheric & Rotor Controls

Tweak atmospheric density and rotor RPM to see why seasonal temperature changes forced JPL to boost RPM in Martian summer.

Density (ρ)0.0150 kg/m³

0.010 (Hot Summer)0.018 (Cold Winter)

Rotor Speed (RPM)2537 RPM

2,000 RPM2,537 Baseline3,000 RPM Max

Verified Flight Presets

SuperCam Acoustic Discovery:On Flight 4, Perseverance recorded Ingenuity's blade hum at exactly 84.6 Hz. Planetary acousticians used this to measure sound wave attenuation in cold CO₂.