'Helicopter' flight on Mars could be 'Wright Brothers moment'

"It will perform the very first ever performed power-controlled flight," Aung said of the Ingenuity helicopter, weighing at just four pounds.

NASA this Thursday will attempt to land the Perseverance rover on Mars.

Building on discoveries of nearly 20 U.S. outings to Mars, Perseverance may set the stage for scientists to conclusively show whether life has existed beyond Earth, while paving the way for eventual human missions to the fourth planet from the sun.