NASA's Mars Copter Flight Could Happen As Soon As Monday

The mini-helicopter's trip will mark the first-ever powered, controlled flight on another planet, and will help NASA reap invaluable data about the conditions on Mars.

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter could make its first flight over the Red Planet as soon as Monday, the US space agency reported, following a delay of more than a week due to a possible technical issue. The mini-helicopter's trip will mark the first-ever powered, controlled flight on another planet, and will help NASA reap invaluable data about the conditions on Mars. "NASA is targeting no earlier than Monday, April 19, for the first flight of its Ingenuity Mars Helicopter," the space agency reported Saturday. Data will return to Earth "a few hours following the autonomous flight," which would take off at approximately 3:30 am (0730 GMT), NASA said.