First Flight On Mars

On April 19, NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter became the first aircraft to fly on another planet.

Our most recent package details the historic first flight of the 4-lb. robotic rotorcraft, which lasted 39.1 seconds, and its follow-up venture on April 22, and looks ahead to its future test program. The technology lays the groundwork for aerial exploration of Mars, an aeronautical feat given the air density of Mars is less than 1% of the density on Earth. See below for more.

“How do we use aerial mobility in the future on Mars, to help not just robotic exploration, but to help human exploration?”
Ellen Stofan
Smithsonian
Dec 04, 2025
The images submitted to this year's Photo Contest Space category showcase a variety of launch vehicles in the U.S. and Europe's Spaceport in Korou, French Guiana.
Nov 26, 2025
The United Arab Emirates is shifting its space program focus to economic gains and security, blending civil-military efforts in a bid to become a space power.
Nov 25, 2025
A crater photographed by the Mars Orbiter Camera on the Mars Global Surveyor was seen on the northern Elysium Planitia (see page 52), on Mars on the cover of the July 19, 1999 issue.
Nov 24, 2025
The UAE has launched the second cohort of "Space Mission And Satellite Engineering" Program. 
Nov 21, 2025
Blue Origin became the second company to nail the landing of an orbital-class booster.
Nov 19, 2025
BlackSky is improving its product and service delivery and adding new satellites to its global constellation.
Nov 18, 2025
National Aeronautics & Space Administration/Hughes Orbiting Solar Observatory, shown in mockup, was scheduled for launch in November 1971, to study the Sun's chromosphere and corona.
Nov 18, 2025
With patience and tenacity, Isaacman has won a second shot at leading NASA.