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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →NASA’s planned SkyFall mission would send three autonomous, instrument-carrying helicopters to Mars in 2028, flying them directly into the atmosphere from the SR-1 Freedom nuclear-powered spacecraft. Instead of relying on a rover or a separate lander, each aircraft would deploy its rotors, descend and land under its own power. The design is intended to let scientists move rapidly between separated terrains, map shallow buried ice and study places that are difficult or impossible for a ground vehicle to reach.
“The three SkyFall helicopters are going to show us parts of Mars we’ve never seen before,” Will Pomerantz, AeroVironment’s head of Space Ventures, said. That is a program expectation, not a measured result: the landing site, routes, final cost and probability of finding ice have not yet been established.
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What NASA’s SkyFall mission is
A three-aircraft Mars science mission
SkyFall is being designed as a repeatable platform of three autonomous helicopters, rather than a single flight experiment. The aircraft build on the flight experience of NASA’s Ingenuity, which completed 72 flights at Jezero Crater. Ingenuity demonstrated that powered flight is possible in Mars’ extremely thin atmosphere, but it operated as a technology demonstrator carried to the surface by the Perseverance rover.
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SkyFall’s aircraft are intended to carry science instruments, fly repeatedly between sites and operate as a coordinated team. AeroVironment announced the contract on 27 August 2026, describing a path toward a late-2028 launch. Space.com reported the planned 2028 launch on 15 October 2026, aboard the proposed SR-1 Freedom interplanetary spacecraft. Both dates are plans, not a completed launch commitment.
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- MARS ROVER PERSEVERANCE & INGENUITY HELICOPTER – 4.5 Sheet Model with a challenging difficulty level. Assembled Size: Rover: 4.92 L x 3.54 W x 2.95 H inches. Helicopter: 1.02 L x 1.30 W x 0.79 H inches. 1:30 Scale.
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Key mission figures
| Element | Current design or plan |
|---|---|
| Helicopters | Three autonomous aircraft |
| Launch timing | 2028, with a late-2028 path described by AeroVironment |
| Planned flight rate | About 1–2 kilometres every other Martian sol, when conditions permit |
| Possible cumulative traverse | Approximately 200–300 kilometres (about 125 to just over 185 miles), depending on terrain, energy and operations |
| Design lifetime | Six months, with a goal of one Earth year |
| Landing site | Not selected; glacial or periglacial terrain with possible subsurface ice is the design reference |
How three helicopters can land without a rover
The “SkyFall maneuver”
SkyFall’s defining deployment method is called the SkyFall maneuver. The carrier spacecraft releases the helicopters directly into the Martian atmosphere, eliminating the need for a host rover such as Perseverance or a single-use lander stage.
- The spacecraft releases the three folded aircraft into the atmosphere.
- Each helicopter separates from the carrier and deploys its rotor system.
- The aircraft controls its descent through the thin atmosphere using its own propulsion and guidance systems.
- After reaching the surface, each vehicle lands under its own power and begins surface operations.
AeroVironment and NASA/JPL describe direct release as a way to avoid a separate lander and reduce technical and financial risk. That is a stated program objective, not an independently audited reduction in risk. The approach also concentrates more responsibility in the helicopters’ entry, descent, landing and autonomous-control systems: a failure during any of those phases could prevent an aircraft from reaching the surface.
What SkyFall will look for on Mars
Five science instruments per aircraft
Each helicopter’s nominal payload includes five instruments plus engineering navigation cameras. The package is designed to examine subsurface structure, surface geology and geomorphology, atmospheric meteorology and radiation conditions. The aircraft’s mobility allows those measurements to be made at separated locations instead of along one rover route.
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- NO GLUE OR SOLDER NEEDED – Parts can be easily clipped from the metal sheets. Bundle includes tweezers, which are recommended for bending and twisting the connection tabs.
- MARS ROVER PERSEVERANCE & INGENUITY HELICOPTER – 4.5 Sheet Model with a challenging difficulty level. Assembled Size: Rover: 4.92 L x 3.54 W x 2.95 H inches. Helicopter: 1.02 L x 1.30 W x 0.79 H inches. 1:30 Scale.
- FROM STEEL SHEETS TO 3D – Pop out the pieces and connect using tabs and holes. Includes illustrated instructions.
- HIGHLY DETAILED ETCHED MODEL – Display your 3D model once completed - collect and build them all.
Ground-penetrating radar for shallow ice
A JPL-designed ground-penetrating radar is intended to detect shallow layers of rock and buried ice. Orbital radar can survey broad regions, but the helicopter radar would work at a much more local scale, helping scientists resolve near-surface structures that spacecraft in orbit cannot distinguish as clearly.
Ice is a high-priority target for two reasons. It preserves information about past Martian climate, and accessible water ice could eventually provide a resource for human missions. Subsurface ice may also preserve environments relevant to habitability. SkyFall is not designed or advertised as a life-detection mission, and finding ice would not by itself demonstrate that life ever existed on Mars.
Using the aircraft as wind sensors
In a proposed “Balloon Mode,” a helicopter could drift with the background wind rather than actively holding position. Tracking that motion would add atmospheric observations without requiring a dedicated wind instrument. Balloon Mode remains a proposed operating technique, not a guaranteed mission capability under every condition.
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- Feed a passion for science and technology – Kids can learn more about the challenges of space exploration with this LEGO Technic NASA Mars Rover Perseverance (42158) building toy set
- Conduct a test flight – This advanced building kit for kids ages 10 and up includes a buildable toy version of NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter, which accompanied the Perseverance Rover and was used to test powered flight on Mars
- AR brings the mission to life – The accompanying augmented reality app experience lets kids dive into the details of the rover and its mission
- Explore the functions – Features 360° steering, movable arms and fully articulated suspension that lets the vehicle travel across uneven surfaces, plus buildable scientific instruments
- A gift for kids who love engineering – This Mars Perseverance Rover NASA toy makes a great gift idea for kids with a passion for space exploration, technology or science projects
Why helicopters can reach places rovers cannot
| Capability | SkyFall | Ingenuity | Typical Mars rover |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobility | Powered flight between separated areas | Powered flight, but as a technology demonstration | Driving constrained by slopes, hazards and obstacles |
| Deployment | Direct release from the carrier spacecraft and self-powered landing | Delivered to Mars by Perseverance | Arrives through its own landing system |
| Science role | Multi-instrument payload including shallow ground-penetrating radar | Primarily flight demonstration and imaging support | Large stationary or arm-mounted science instruments |
| Geographic reach | Can leave the landing ellipse and connect separated targets by air | Short demonstration flights around Jezero Crater | Must navigate a continuous ground route |
| Operational risk | Three aircraft must survive autonomous deployment, flight and landing | One aircraft supported by a rover | Driving, landing and surface systems create different failure modes |
A rover can inspect a rock at close range and carry heavier equipment, but terrain can force it to detour around cliffs, steep slopes, loose ground or other hazards. A helicopter can cross those barriers and sample a distant outcrop or ice-bearing region without driving through every metre between them. The trade-off is that flight demands power, precise autonomous navigation and reliable operation in an atmosphere roughly one percent as dense as Earth’s at the surface.
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SkyFall Project Scientist Matthew Golombek said the aircraft are being designed to fly roughly 1–2 kilometres every other sol. Over a mission lasting months, that cadence could allow a combined traverse of about 200–300 kilometres. The figure is a potential, not a guaranteed route length: dust, temperature, terrain, available energy, communications and navigation performance could all reduce it.
The baseline design lifetime is six months, with a goal of one Earth year. Each helicopter is expected to fly every other sol when conditions permit. Because the vehicles are independent, the team could continue science with surviving aircraft if one helicopter is lost, although the mission’s final resilience plan has not been published.
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- HOBBY MODEL KIT – Unassembled model packed in an envelope with easy to follow instructions. Ideal for ages 14 and up.
- NO GLUE OR SOLDER NEEDED – Parts can be easily clipped from the metal sheets. Tweezers are the recommended tool for bending and twisting the connection tabs.
- UH-60 BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER
- FROM STEEL SHEETS TO 3D – Pop out the pieces and connect using tabs and holes. Includes illustrated instructions.
- HIGHLY DETAILED ETCHED MODEL – Display your 3D model once completed - collect and build them all.
Where SkyFall may land
The design-reference site is glacial or periglacial terrain where near-surface water ice may be accessible. NASA’s Mars Exploration Program and the SkyFall project plan an initial landing-site workshop in early 2027 and a second workshop in late 2027. Final selection will follow evaluation of scientific value, engineering safety, communications, energy and flight constraints.
Those workshops are planning milestones, not evidence that a site has been chosen. The eventual location will determine which geological layers, ice deposits and atmospheric conditions the helicopters can investigate.
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Who is building the mission
AeroVironment is responsible for the rotor systems, airframes, structures, avionics integration and accommodation for the science payloads. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory leads the power system, electronics, flight algorithms and software, and supplies the ground-penetrating radar.
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Jeff Rodrian, head of AeroVironment’s MacCready Works, characterized the effort as applying the company’s high-volume uncrewed-systems approach to planetary exploration. That describes the intended manufacturing philosophy; it is not an independently verified production forecast.
What SkyFall cannot yet promise
- No final launch date has been locked in beyond the stated 2028 planning path.
- No landing site or flight route has been selected.
- No published source quantifies how much more area SkyFall will cover than a particular rover.
- The mission has no published probability of finding accessible water ice.
- Final mission cost and the number of successful flights are not established.
- Detecting buried ice would inform climate and resource studies, but would not prove past or present life.
If it succeeds, SkyFall would add a new kind of Mars exploration: a network of small aircraft able to hop between scientifically important regions while carrying instruments that probe beneath the surface. Its strongest promise is not simply speed, but access to terrain a rover may never be able to cross.
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