NASA’s SkyFall Mars helicopters to launch in 2028

NASA’s SkyFall mission will dispatch three helicopters to Mars in December 2028. The rotorcraft are scheduled to launch in late 2028 aboard the Space Reactor-1 Freedom rocket.

An artist’s concept released on August 6, 2026, shows the helicopters flying over the Red Planet. Large antennas emit green frequency waves to illustrate subsurface radar data collection, while red beams represent near-infrared imagery of regolith and surface features.

Each helicopter carries four instruments, following in the footsteps of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. Ingenuity completed 72 flights over nearly three years as a technology demonstrator, proving that powered flight is possible in the rarefied Martian atmosphere. It also provided aerial data that helped the Perseverance rover team plan routes and select science targets.

SkyFall is managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. AeroVironment of Arlington, Virginia — which co-designed Ingenuity — will co-design and co-manufacture the helicopters. JPL, managed by Caltech for NASA, oversees the Mars Exploration Program on behalf of the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

More information is available at NASA’s SkyFall mission page: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/skyfall/