NASA JPL Aerovironment Skyfall Mission Mars Helicopters
Mars has always seemed like a distant dream, but NASA and Virginia-based AeroVironment (AV) are working to shrink that distance with a new mission called Skyfall. This plan will send six small helicopters to the Red Planet, each to scout out the terrain and prepare for the day humans set foot there.



Skyfall’s centerpiece is its fleet of six helicopters, each a tiny marvel about the size of Ingenuity—19 inches tall and 4 pounds. Unlike Ingenuity, which rode to Mars inside the Perseverance rover, these helicopters are set to arrive in a single entry capsule. Mid-descent through the Martian atmosphere, the capsule then releases them like seeds, eventually landing on their own so there’s no need for a big lander.

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NASA JPL Aerovironment Skyfall Mission Mars Helicopters
Each will operate independently, spreading out across the Martian surface to cover more ground, gathering data from multiple areas at once. With high res cameras and radar they’ll image the surface and probe beneath for water ice, critical for future human missions. This distributed approach means scientists can study different terrains in a single mission.

Skyfall feels like the next logical step, a bridge between Ingenuity’s proof of concept and a future where helicopters are as common on Mars as rovers. As the 2028 launch date gets closer, Mars is starting to feel a little closer.