---
title: "NASA Says It’s Sending Two More Ingenuity-Class Helicopters to Mars"
description: "NASA announced Wednesday that it plans to send two more Ingenuity-class helicopters to Mars onboard their upcoming Sample Retrieval Lander. That’s in light of the overwhelming success of the current Mars Ingenuity helicopter. It may be on its last legs now, but Ingenuity’s lasted way longer than anticipated and clearly proved that using a […]"
date: "2022-07-27"
modified: "2022-07-27"
authors:
  - name: "Frank Landymore"
    job_title: "Contributing Writer"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-sending-two-more-ingenuity-chelicopters-mars"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
  - "Astronomy"
  - "Mars"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "helicopters"
  - "mars"
  - "NASA"
  - "the digest"
---

# NASA Says It’s Sending Two More Ingenuity-Class Helicopters to Mars

![On Wednesday, NASA announced that it plans to send two more Ingenuity-class helicopters to Mars to assist in its mission to bring Martian samples to Earth.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/nasa-sending-two-more-ingenuity-chelicopters-mars.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: NASA\</em\>*

## Hoverachiever

NASA [announced on Wednesday](<https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-will-inspire-world-when-it-returns-mars-samples-to-earth-in-2033>) that it plans to send two more Ingenuity-class helicopters to Mars onboard its upcoming [Sample Retrieval Lander](<https://mars.nasa.gov/resources/26684/mars-sample-retrieval-lander-concept-illustration/>).

That’s in light of the [overwhelming success](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-scientists-wreckage-mars>) of the agency's ongoing Mars Ingenuity helicopter mission. It may be [on its last legs now](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/navigation-sensor-mars-helicopter-dead>), but the small rotorcraft’s lasted [way longer than anticipated](<https://www.space.com/nasa-ingenuity-mars-helicopter-one-year-anniversary>), proving once and for all that using a helicopter on Mars is a more-than-viable way to [explore](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-mars-helicopter-color-photos>), accomplishing 29 successful flights so far.

With the remarkable deployment of NASA’s Perseverance Rover on the Red Planet — Ingenuity's much larger, six-wheeled companion **—** the long-term mission of bringing the first Martian sample back to Earth is firmly underway.

But while [Perseverance has already drilled and collected eleven samples](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-mars-rover-scooped-rock-samples>) to date, it can’t complete the retrieval mission on its own. That’s where NASA’s newfangled helicopters come into play.

## Team Effort

Originally, a separate rover was going to be used to ferry samples between Perseverance and the Sample Retrieval Launcher. But there’s been a change of plans, and NASA says Perseverance will do the ferrying itself, no extra rover required.

Instead, the two helicopters will be used as a secondary method of retrieving the samples.

The plan is to have either Perseverance or the helicopters bring Martian rock samples to a Sample Retrieval Lander. Then, a robotic arm on the lander will load the samples into a [Mars Ascent Vehicle](<https://www.freethink.com/space/mars-ascent-vehicle>) (MAV), a small rocket that could become the first manmade object to take off from the Martian surface.

From there, the MAV will deliver the payload to the [Earth Return Orbiter](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/airbus-interplanetary-cargo-ship>), which will take the samples back to our watery world.

Don't hold your breath for them to be here anytime soon, though: NASA says the orbiter won't be back with its Martian loot until at least 2033, assuming all goes to plan.

Once the samples get here, it'll mark a [momentous step forward](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/experts-urge-nasa-return-mars-samples-earth>) in our understanding of the Red Planet's history, and more — assuming the samples won't unleash a world-ending [Martian plague](<https://futurism.com/mars-samples-earth>) back on Earth.

**More on Mars:** [*China Takes Incredible Close Up Shot of Mars' Moon Phobos*](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-photo-mars-moon-phobos>)

## Author
At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/f-w-l.bsky.social>)