[exciting orchestra music]
[NASA CHOPPER READY
FOR A SPIN ON MARS]
[THE MARS HELICOPTER IS A
TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATION]
[THAT WILL LAUNCH WITH
THE MARS 2020 MISSION]
>> [Mimi Aung] Can
we fly at Mars?
That has been a question
for a long time.
[exciting orchestra music]
[IN THEORY, IF A HELICOPTER
IS LIGHT ENOUGH]
[AND THE BLADES SPIN FAST
ENOUGH, IT SHOULD FLY.]
[IN THE THIN MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE,
WILL THIS BE POSSIBLE?]
[AFTER BUILDING MANY PROTOTYPES,
ENGINEERS HAVE BUILT A
VEHICLE THEY BELIEVE
WILL FLY ON THE RED PLANET.]
[THIS IS THE ACTUAL HELICOPTER
THAT WILL GO TO MARS.]
[MARS-LIKE CONDITIONS ARE
CREATED FOR FLIGHT TESTING.]
[INSIDE A SPACE SIMULATOR,
THE CONDITIONS ARE
1% OF EARTH'S
ATMOSPHERIC DENSITY,
AND 40% OF EARTH'S GRAVITY.]
 [buzzing]
[IN JANUARY 2019, THE
HELICOPTER SUCCESSFULLY
COMPLETED ITS
FINAL FLIGHT TEST.]
[muffled talking]
This is a huge milestone for us.
But really our job
isn't done until we see
the same test flight
being performed at Mars.
[exciting orchestra music]
[THE NEXT TIME THE HELICOPTER
WILL ATTEMPT TO FLY
WILL BE ON MARS.]
[IF SUCCESSFUL, A HELICOPTER
COULD BE USED FOR
FUTURE MISSIONS.]
[EXPLORE
SPACE TECH]
32
00:01:33,860 --> 00:00:00,000
[NASA]
