How a Tiny Helicopter Made History on Mars – Meet Ingenuity!

Have you ever flown a toy helicopter in your backyard? Now imagine flying one 180 million miles away—on Mars! That’s exactly what NASA’s tiny helicopter, Ingenuity, did. And it made history doing it.

Let’s take your family on a space adventure to learn about one of the coolest little explorers ever built.

Get cool FREE posters from NASA:

https://science.nasa.gov/resource/ingenuity-mars-helicopter-poster/

What was Ingenuity?

Ingenuity was a small, high-tech helicopter. Its light body about the size of a tissue box was connected to 4-foot blades and powered by the Sun! It hitched a ride to Mars with the Perseverance rover in 2020. Scientists weren’t even sure if it would work. After all, flying on Mars is really different from flying on Earth.

Why Is Flying on Mars So Hard?

Mars has a much thinner atmosphere than Earth—less than 1% as thick. That means there’s not much air to push against for lift. It’s like trying to fly a kite at the top of a mountain… in slow motion!

To fly on Mars, Ingenuity needed super-light materials and super-fast spinning blades. In fact, its blades spin about 2,400 times every minute—way faster than a regular helicopter on Earth!

The First Flight Ever on Another Planet

On April 19, 2021, Ingenuity made history. It lifted off the ground, hovered about 10 feet in the air for 30 seconds, and safely landed. That may sound simple—but it was the first powered flight on another world!

It’s like the Wright brothers’ flight all over again—only this time, it was on Mars.

Why It Matters

That tiny helicopter helped us learn how to fly on other planets. That could mean better exploring tools for future Mars missions—maybe even flying robots that can scout for astronauts or search for signs of life.

And guess what? Ingenuity was only supposed to fly a few times. But it kept going—it flew 72 times over more than 2 years, covering miles of Martian ground!

Fun Fact for Kids:

Did you know Ingenuity’s mission control team nicknamed it “Ginny”? And it has a piece of the Wright brothers’ first airplane tucked inside it—so history flew with it!

Try This STEM project at Home: Make a Mars Helicopter

Materials:

• Paper
• Scissors
• Tape or a paperclip
• Markers to decorate

Step-by-step instructions (see pictures below)

1. Cut a strip of paper about 1 inch wide and 6 inches long.
   1. Optional: Decorate by coloring a pattern on your paper. 
2. Fold into thirds.
3. Cut a slit down the middle from the top about 3/4 of the way to the first fold - but not all the way to the first fold.
4. Cut small slits into both sides of the first fold. 
5. Fold the “body” into thirds the long way (see picture below).
6. Roll up the “body” and secure with a binder clip, paperclip, or tape.
7. Fold the two flaps in opposite directions to make helicopter “blades”.
8. Drop it from high up and watch it spin!

Can your mini-copter “fly” like Ingenuity?

Let’s make a STEM experiment! Explore what small changes to the design does to the mini-copter’s flight. Make it a family competition! Who can fly faster? Or stay in the air longer?

Some ideas to test:

1) Try different weights on the body - paper clips vs tape vs paper clips. Or maybe tape something heavy to the body. Write down what changes when you test the different versions!

2) Try different papers - heavy paper vs thin paper. Or maybe cut longer paper strips to create longer “blades”. Now what happens when you test your different versions?

Share your best mini-copter with Dragonwing Valley on social! We’d love to see your engineering and decorations!!🎉

Final Thoughts:

Ingenuity showed us that big dreams can come in small packages. It’s a powerful reminder for kids (and grown-ups!) that curiosity and courage can take us to amazing places—even across the stars.

Next time you look up at the night sky, somewhere up there on Mars a little helicopter made history.

Learn more and see more pictures of Ingenuity on Mars at NASA.gov!