--- description: Find out why NASA Ingenuity Helicopter is one of the best inventions of 2020. title: NASA Ingenuity Helicopter: The 100 Best Inventions of 2020 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d82ca7622d91797/698a143a096a94de056a8d16/best-inventions-of-2020-Ingenuity-Helicopter-5.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Nov 19, 2020 # Ready for Takeoff NASA Ingenuity Helicopter by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  D2020\_0129\_RL2757.jpg D2020\_0129\_RL2757.jpgCourtesy The coolest helicopter on earth is actually nowhere near the Earth. It’s nestled in the belly of [NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/6-things-to-know-about-nasas-ingenuity-mars-helicopter/ "undefined")’s Perseverance rover, set to land on Mars early next year. The little machine—dubbed ­Ingenuity—is equipped with two counter-­rotating blades that spin at 2,400 revolutions per minute. That’s a lot faster than earthly helicopter blades—and it has to be, since it takes a lot of muscle to get any purchase in Mars’ thin air. Ingenuity is a prototype, intended to find an easier way to get from place to place on Mars. It’s a job that rovers do slowly but a helicopter could do speedily and nimbly, climbing to elevations even the best Mars car could not reach. _—Jeffrey Kluger_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2020/5911430/nasa-ingenuity-helicopter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2020/5911430/nasa-ingenuity-helicopter/"},"headline":"Ready for Takeoff","datePublished":"2020-11-19T13:54:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:46:19.331Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2020/5911430/nasa-ingenuity-helicopter/","keywords":["list","franchise","best inventions","Best Inventions 2020"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d82ca7622d91797/698a143a096a94de056a8d16/best-inventions-of-2020-Ingenuity-Helicopter-5.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d82ca7622d91797/698a143a096a94de056a8d16/best-inventions-of-2020-Ingenuity-Helicopter-5.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2020/5911430/nasa-ingenuity-helicopter/","name":"Ready for Takeoff"}}]}] ```