AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV) announced it has been awarded a contract to co-design and co-manufacture three autonomous helicopters for NASA's SkyFall mission to Mars, with a planned launch in late 2028.

The contract was awarded to AeroVironment's MacCready Works division, which will work alongside NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). According to the company's press release, SkyFall is described as the first mission to deploy a team of three instrument-carrying helicopters on Mars, capable of autonomous atmospheric entry and powered descent.

AeroVironment and JPL previously collaborated on the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which completed 72 flights at Jezero Crater. The SkyFall helicopters are based on designs derived from Ingenuity.

Under the contract, AeroVironment will lead the design and production of rotor systems, airframes, structures, avionics integration, and science payload accommodation. JPL will lead development of the power system, electronics, algorithms, and software. Each helicopter will carry a JPL-designed ground-penetrating radar to map subsurface ice on Mars, along with instruments to measure atmospheric conditions and dust particle transport.

A key feature of the mission is the "SkyFall maneuver," in which all three helicopters are released directly from the carrier spacecraft into the Martian atmosphere, where they separate, descend, and land independently. This approach eliminates the need for a dedicated lander or host rover.

"With Ingenuity, AV and JPL proved we could fly on Mars. Now, with SkyFall, we're taking AV's high-volume uncrewed systems mindset into planetary exploration and showing that Mars helicopters can be built as a repeatable product line, not a one-off delivery," said Jeff Rodrian, Head of MacCready Works.

NASA has set a launch window for November 2028, with arrival at Mars timed to local conditions including dust levels and power requirements.