Week ahead: 3 stories to watch Share Updated: 10:12 PM CDT Apr 10, 2021 National Desk Staff Share Updated: 10:12 PM CDT Apr 10, 2021 Hide Transcript Show Transcript The perseverance rover may have taken over the extraterrestrial news cycle over the last couple of months since it landed on MArs back in february. But while the sights and sounds it has been sending back have been invaluable to scientists and anyone interested in the red planet. The object that was attached to its underside and was just dropped off might be even more interesting. This is ingenuity, the mini helicopter that is now on the surface of MARS and will soon have its first non earth test flight. But before it flies, it has to survive. The small device has an onboard battery will have to use to keep its electrical components warm through the cold martian nights. The next step will be for Nasa engineers on Earth due to a diagnostic of the copter, ensuring the solar panels are functioning in the battery recharges as well. And make sure ingenuity, sensors and motors survived. Both the 293 million mile journey to MARS as well as the foreigners dropped from Perseverance sometime after april 11th, ingenuity will attempt its first flight over MARS, which has an atmosphere that is only about 1% the density of Earth's. But while lift will be harder in MArs than at mo martian gravity is also much lower, only about one third the pull of Earth's. Mhm. Yes.