NASA Awards AeroVironment Contract to Build Three Helicopters for Mars SkyFall Mission Targeting 2028 Launch
Why It MattersThe award extends the Ingenuity partnership into a defense-industrial role for AeroVironment, signaling continued government reliance on aerospace contractors for planetary rotorcraft development.
NASA has selected AeroVironment to co-design and co-manufacture three autonomous rotorcraft for its SkyFall mission, which targets a November 2028 launch window. The three helicopters will be developed alongside NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, building on both organizations' experience creating Ingenuity, the Mars helicopter that completed 72 flights at Jezero Crater before its mission concluded.
Unlike Ingenuity, which relied on the Perseverance rover for deployment, the SkyFall rotorcraft will be released directly from their carrier spacecraft, with each helicopter separating autonomously, descending through the Martian atmosphere and landing under its own power. Once on the surface, the aircraft will carry JPL-developed ground-penetrating radar capable of mapping shallow subsurface ice, along with instruments designed to study the Martian atmosphere, dust movement and other environmental conditions.
Under the contract, AeroVironment will be responsible for rotor systems, airframes, structures and avionics integration, while JPL will lead development of the power system, electronics, algorithms and software.
