Nasa?s JPL had announced that the first flight of the Ingenuity mini-helicopter has dropped on the surface of Mars in preparation for its first flight, as the US space agency confirms. The space agency has released photographs of the ultra-light aircraft fixed to the belly touching the Red Planet on February 18.

Come fly with us. #MarsHelicopter is preparing to do something that's never been done: controlled, powered flight on another planet. Takeoff is now slated for no earlier than April 11, with data arriving on Earth on April 12. https://t.co/TNCdXWcKWE pic.twitter.com/JSep5lcKhR

? NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) April 1, 2021

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory took it to Twitter informing about the successful land "MarsHelicopter touchdown confirmed!" on Saturday. The tweet further read "Its 293 million miles journey aboard @NASAPersevere ended with the final drop of 4 inches from the rover's belly to the surface of Mars today. Next milestone? Survive the night." The tweet accompanied by a photograph showed Perseverance had driven clear of the helicopter and its "airfield" after dropping to the surface. Bob Balaram, Mars Helicopter Project chief engineer said that over the next couple of days, the Ingenuity team will observe the helicopter's solar panels, it is working, and recharging the capacity of the battery before testing its motors and sensors ahead of its first flight. Ingenuity is expected to make its first flight attempt no earlier than April 11, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory tweeted.

#MarsHelicopter touchdown confirmed! Its 293 million mile (471 million km) journey aboard @NASAPersevere ended with the final drop of 4 inches (10 cm) from the rover's belly to the surface of Mars today. Next milestone? Survive the night. https://t.co/TNCdXWcKWE pic.twitter.com/XaBiSNebua

? NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) April 4, 2021

Howsoever, the first flight will involve climbing at a rate of about three feet per second to a height of 10 feet, hovering there for 30 seconds, then descending back to the surface. Ingenuity will be taking high-resolution photography as it takes its first fly. Future aircraft could cover ground much quicker than rovers, and explore more rugged terrain.

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