After a two-month silence, NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has finally made contact with mission controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California.
The 52nd flight of the pioneering rotorcraft, which took place on April 26, had lost communication as it descended toward the Martian surface for landing.
However, the team had anticipated this temporary loss of contact due to a hill obstructing communication between Ingenuity's landing site and the Perseverance rover, according to NASA JPL's recent statement.
In this concept illustration provided by NASA, NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter stands on the Red Planet's surface as NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover (partially visible on the left) rolls away. NASA's Perseverance (Mars 2020) rover will store rock and soil samples in sealed tubes on the planet's surface for future missions to retrieve in the area known as the Jezero crater on the planet Mars.
Vital Radio Delay
The Perseverance rover serves as a vital radio relay between the helicopter and mission controllers. The Ingenuity team had already devised plans for re-establishing contact once the rover was back into range.
On June 28, as Perseverance crested the hill, the team successfully reconnected with Ingenuity.
Flight 52, lasting 139 seconds and covering a distance of 1,191 feet (363 meters), aimed to relocate the helicopter and capture images of the Martian surface for the rover's science team.
"The portion of Jezero Crater the rover and helicopter are currently exploring has a lot of rugged terrains, which makes communications dropouts more likely," explained Josh Anderson, the Ingenuity team lead at JPL. "
The team's goal is to keep Ingenuity ahead of Perseverance, which occasionally involves temporarily pushing beyond communication limits.
Although waiting 63 days for flight data may seem lengthy, the received data indicates that the first aircraft is functioning well. If the subsequent health checks continue to show positive results, Ingenuity may take flight once again in the coming weeks.
For Flight 53, the team has set its sights on an interim airfield located to the west. From there, they plan to embark on another westward flight towards a new base of operations near a rocky outcrop that piques the curiosity of the Perseverance team.
All About Ingenuity
NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is a small robotic helicopter designed to operate in the thin atmosphere of Mars. Ingenuity traveled to Mars as part of NASA's Mars 2020 mission, which also included the Perseverance rover.
The purpose of Ingenuity is to demonstrate the feasibility of powered flight in the harsh conditions of Mars and to aid in the exploration of the Red Planet.
The helicopter is a technology demonstration, showcasing the potential for aerial exploration and scouting missions on Mars and other celestial bodies.
Ingenuity is equipped with a high-resolution camera to capture images of the Martian surface, providing valuable visual data to assist the Perseverance rover in its scientific investigations.
The helicopter's flight capabilities allow it to access areas that are inaccessible to rovers, providing a new perspective and expanding the scope of exploration.
Related Article: NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover Captures the Most Detailed Image of the Martian Surface with 2.5 Billion Pixels
