NASA Begins First Attempt of 'Ingenuity' Helicopter's Flight on Mars

Slashdot reader quonset reminds us that NASA's Mars helicopter 'is officially 'go' for flight!,' according to the Twitter feed of the Perserverance Rover, which notes that its cameras are ready to film the historic event.

'Watch with the team as they receive data and find out if they were successful,' adds NASA's official feed. 'Meet us in mission control April 19 at 6:15am ET (10:15am UTC):

Data from the first flight will return to Earth a few hours following the autonomous flight. A livestream will begin at 6:15 a.m. EDT (3:15 a.m. PDT), as the helicopter team prepares to receive the data downlink in the Space Flight Operations Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Watch on NASA Television, the agency app, website, and social media platforms, including YouTube and Facebook.

If the flight takes place April 19, a postflight briefing will be held at 2 p.m. EDT (11 a.m. PDT)...

The public and media also may ask questions on social media during the livestream and briefing using #MarsHelicopter. Find the latest schedule updates here.

The Perseverance rover will provide support during flight operations, taking images, collecting environmental data, and hosting the base station that enables the helicopter to communicate with mission controllers on Earth.

Update: And it's a success! 'We've been talking for so long about our Wright Brothers moment on Mars, and here it is,' said NASA Ingenuity Mars Helicopter project manager MiMi Aung. The Perserverance rover has already tweeted out a choppy video.

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