--- title: "NASA Is Testing Its Tiny Mars Helicopter for July 2020 Launch" description: "NASA is planning to send its tiny Mars Helicopter to the surface of Mars next summer. And the Helicopter just passed a couple of important milestones." date: "2019-06-07" modified: "2019-06-07" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-mars-helicopter-2020" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Mars" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "mars" - "mars helicopter" - "NASA" - "the digest" --- # NASA Is Testing Its Tiny Mars Helicopter for July 2020 Launch ![NASA is planning to send its tiny Mars Helicopter to the surface of Mars next summer. And the Helicopter just passed a couple of important milestones.]() *\Image: NASA/JPL\* ## Mars Helicopter NASA is planning to send its tiny Mars Helicopter to the surface of Mars alongside its Mars 2020 rover next summer. And the robot just [passed a couple of important milestones](). If all goes according to plan, the Mars Helicopter will launch cradled to the belly of NASA's Mars 2020 rover in July 2020 on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Mars Helicopter is a 4 lb flying robot that will be deployed on the Martian surface by the rover to explore the surroundings and other hard-to-reach places that rovers can't get to. It could become the first vehicle in history "to establish the viability of heavier-than-air vehicles flying on another planet," according to [a statement](). ## Flying Over Mars The spacecraft just underwent a series of tough simulated tests to prepare it for the harsh Martian environment. But there are still plenty of further tests and finishing touches ahead. In January, the Helicopter [successfully completed]() its first flight test inside a massive 25 foot vacuum chamber. "We expect to complete our final tests and refinements and deliver the helicopter to the High Bay 1 clean room for integration with the rover sometime this summer," said MiMi Aung, project manager for the Mars Helicopter at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, [in a statement](). "But we will never really be done with testing the helicopter until we fly at Mars." **READ MORE:** [NASA's Mars Helicopter Whirls Through Tests on Way to 2020 Launch]() \[*Space.com*\] **More on the Mars Helicopter:** *[Mini Helicopter Destined for Mars Aces Flight Tests]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()