INGENUITY

The small helicopter that landed on Mars with rover Perseverance has exceeded expectations, flying for the 12th time on the red planet and capturing the landscape like never before.

NASA’s newest Mars rover has come up empty in its first attempt to pick up a rock sample to eventually be brought back to Earth.

Here are this morning's top stories.

The small helicopter flying on Mars hasn’t just been successful -- it’s been overachieving.

NASA's little Mars helicopter is safely on the ground following a wild, lurching ride caused by a navigation timing error.

For its third Mars flight, NASA's small Mars chopper flew at speeds and distances well beyond what had ever been previously tested here on Earth.

The first flight lasted just 30 seconds with Ingenuity simply taking off, hovering 10 feet above the ground and touching down again. Each flight will get more complicated.

NASA collected data from their small helicopter Ingenuity on Monday morning that revealed its successful flight on mars -- the first controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet.

NASA's experimental Mars helicopter has taken flight.

All systems are “go” for the maiden Mars flight of NASA’s small helicopter Ingenuity this weekend.

And as of Tuesday morning, NASA's small helicopter Ingenuity has survived a cold night on Mars and is nearly ready for its maiden flight.

The most important aspect of NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is obviously to search for past life on the Red Planet -- but the most fascinating aspect may take place this week.

NASA is getting ready for yet another historic flight: A 4-pound helicopter is being prepared to fly on Mars. During a news briefing on Tuesday, NASA officials and engineers talked about preparations for the upcoming maiden voyage of the small helicopter, named Ingenuity. AdSee: Part of Wright brothers’ 1st airplane on NASA’s Mars chopperNASA is hoping to fly the small Ingenuity on April 8. NASA’s successfully landed its Mars Rover Perseverance on Feb. 18 this year near an ancient river delta in the Jezero Crater to search for signs of ancient microscopic life. AdMore: Check out these new photos from Mars Rover ‘Perseverance’Related: Dream realized: Rochester Hills native named NASA flight director

(NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A piece of the Wright brothers’ first airplane is on Mars. NASA’s experimental Martian helicopter holds a small swatch of fabric from the 1903 Wright Flyer, the space agency revealed Tuesday. The helicopter, named Ingenuity, hitched a ride to the red planet with the Perseverance rover, arriving last month. It will mark a "Wright brothers' moment," noted Bobby Braun, director for planetary science at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The swatch made the 300 million-mile journey to Mars with the blessing of the Wright brothers' great-grandniece and great-grandnephew, said park curator Steve Lucht.

One week from today, NASA will attempt to land its newest rover onto the red planet. This is no easy task, as you’ll see in this short video explaining how NASA will try to stick this landing -- watch above. Read more: NASA launches Mars 2020 Perseverance roverPerseverance was launched successfully back in July from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The rover is set to land on Mars Feb. 18, 2021 at the planet’s Jezero Crater. The mission has the ambitious goal of returning samples of Mars rock and soil back to Earth.