NASA's SkyFall helicopters will 'show us parts of Mars we've never seen before', scientists say

NASA is accelerating development of three SkyFall helicopters slated for a 2028 launch toward Mars aboard the nuclear-powered Space Reactor-1 Freedom spacecraft. The trio of aerial vehicles will arrive in a single entry capsule dropped in the planet's northern hemisphere during spring to avoid dust storms.

The three identical helicopters are based on the success of the Ingenuity rotorcraft. They will be released directly into the Martian atmosphere at roughly under a mile high, with each craft landing independently without a host rover or lander stage.

According to JPL Project Scientist Matthew Golombek, the six-month vehicles are designed to fly every other sol, traversing up to 185 miles. Each craft carries engineering navigation cameras and five instruments to study subsurface structure, geology, meteorology, and radiation, including a ground-penetrating radar to detect buried ice.

AeroVironment is partnering with JPL to co-design and co-manufacture the craft, aiming to build Mars helicopters as a repeatable product line. NASA and JPL plan to host landing site workshops starting early next year to rank potential destinations, with a second workshop following in late 2027.