NASA finds Ingenuity after losing contact with the Mars helicopter

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Last edited Sun Jan 21, 2024, 05:02 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: NPR

Updated January 20, 2024 9:40 PM ET


NASA is back in contact with its beloved helicopter on Mars, Ingenuity, two days after a communication blackout. Communications broke down on Thursday, when the little autonomous rotorcraft was sent on a "quick pop-up vertical flight," to test its systems after an unplanned early landing during its previous flight, the agency said in a status update on Friday night.

The Perseverance rover, which relays data between the helicopter and Earth during the flights, showed that Ingenuity climbed to its assigned maximum altitude of 40 feet, NASA said.

During its planned descent, the helicopter and rover stopped communicating with each other. But good news came late on Saturday, when NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory tweeted that it had reestablished contact with the helicopter after instructing the rover "to perform long-duration listening sessions for Ingenuity's signal."

The Ingenuity team is reviewing the new data to understand the unexpected communications dropout that occurred during the helicopter's 72nd flight, it added.

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2024/01/20/1225845938/nasa-mars-ingenuity-helicopter-lost

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Article updated.

Original article/headline -

NASA is looking for Ingenuity after losing contact with the Mars helicopter

January 20, 2024 3:03 PM ET


NASA has lost contact with its beloved helicopter on Mars, Ingenuity.

Communications broke down on Thursday, when the little autonomous rotorcraft was sent on a "quick pop-up vertical flight," to test its systems after an unplanned early landing during its previous flight, the agency said in a status update on Friday night.

The Perseverance rover, which relays data between the helicopter and Earth during the flights, showed that Ingenuity climbed to its assigned maximum altitude of 40 feet, NASA said. But during its planned descent, the helicopter and rover stopped communicating with each other.

The Ingenuity team is looking at next steps in attempts to restore communication with the helicopter, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a tweet. Operators may drive Perseverance closer to where it lost contact with the helicopter.