Mars helicopter gets extra month of flying as rover’s scout

NASA’s little Mars helicopter has gotten a reprieve.

Instead of wrapping up flight tests at the beginning of May, NASA is giving its Ingenuity helicopter at least an extra month to tackle tough new terrain and serve as a scout for its companion rover, Perseverance.

Officials announced the flight extension Friday, following three successful flights over the past month for the $85 million tech demo. Ingenuity was attempting its fourth flight Friday afternoon; Thursday’s effort failed because of a known software error.

On its fifth flight in a week or so, the chopper will move to a new airfield on Mars, allowing the rover to finally start focusing on its own rock-sampling mission.