>One of the most significant obstacles for landing on Mars will continue to present problems for our heroic helicopter now that it is safely on the surface. The atmospheric pressure on the surface of Mars is only about 1% that of Earth. To put that in perspective, the summit of Mount Everest has only one-third the atmospheric pressure of sea level. While this is thought to be at (or sadly in some cases beyond) the limit of what humans can survive, it is well beyond Earthbound helicopters’ range. If you’ve ever wondered why wealthy explorer-types don’t just cheat and take a helicopter to the summit of Everest, that’s why!
Ummm... actually:
>On June 21, 1972, Jean Boulet of France piloted an Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama helicopter to an absolute altitude record of 40,814 feet (12,440 m).[60] At that extreme altitude, the engine flamed out and Boulet had to land the helicopter by breaking another record: the longest successful autorotation in history.[61] The helicopter was stripped of all unnecessary equipment prior to the flight to minimize weight, and the pilot breathed supplemental oxygen.
>The record was broken on March 23, 2002 by Fred North. North achieved an altitude of 42,500 feet (12,954 m) in a Eurocopter AS350 B2.
It should be clear that while Eurocopter and Aerospatiale before them liked showing off specific modified helicopters in the Himalayas (up to and including landing on Everest), none of them were capable of carrying a useful payload to that altitude. Helicopter altitude records are much like zoom-climb records in jet aircraft - yes, you can reach those altitudes, but not for long and not while doing anything else.
Ummm... actually:
>On June 21, 1972, Jean Boulet of France piloted an Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama helicopter to an absolute altitude record of 40,814 feet (12,440 m).[60] At that extreme altitude, the engine flamed out and Boulet had to land the helicopter by breaking another record: the longest successful autorotation in history.[61] The helicopter was stripped of all unnecessary equipment prior to the flight to minimize weight, and the pilot breathed supplemental oxygen.
>The record was broken on March 23, 2002 by Fred North. North achieved an altitude of 42,500 feet (12,954 m) in a Eurocopter AS350 B2.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_altitude_record
Also: Mount Everest AS350 B3 landing - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXNXSvnCtKA