AVAV
Mars, but make it a contract
AeroVironment’s MacCready Works team just got tapped by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to help build three helicopters for the SkyFall mission. That’s not a science-fair prototype anymore — it’s a formally funded Mars mission with a path toward launch in late 2028.
Why this matters
For investors, this is the fun part of aerospace: a niche engineering win that can still move the needle on reputation, backlog, and optionality. AeroVironment gets to show it can do more than the usual battlefield hardware grind — it can help build the weird, high-stakes stuff that ends up on the front page and, eventually, on another planet.
The big picture
This deal also plugs AVAV into one of NASA’s most eye-catching science missions. If SkyFall keeps advancing, AeroVironment gets a front-row seat to a long-cycle program that could become a credibility halo for future government work.
Big picture: in defense tech, sometimes the best marketing is literally reaching Mars.