A NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory image report published on Aug. 6, 2026, described antenna testing for the agency's SkyFall mission. Engineer Maya Román is shown connecting a coaxial cable to a test antenna in the Environmental Test Lab's electromagnetic interference testing chamber at JPL in Southern California. The antenna was pointed upward during the test to minimize reflections and interference with the antenna pattern during measurement.

According to the report, the three SkyFall aircraft would each carry four instruments and were intended to follow the agency's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which flew 72 times over nearly three years, demonstrating powered, controlled flight in the thin Martian atmosphere and showing how an aerial perspective could help the Perseverance rover team plan routes and choose science locations.

As of that Aug. 6, 2026, report, SkyFall was expected to launch aboard NASA's Space Reactor-1 Freedom in late 2028.