NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Phones Home After 63 Days of Silence
After 63 days of silence, NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has phoned home. The 4-pound (1.8 kilograms) chopper went dark on April 26, when it was on its 52nd flight on the floor of Mars’ Jezero Crater.
Ingenuity’s silence was caused by a hill that blocked communication between the helicopter and the Perseverance rover, which acts as a radio relay between the helicopter and mission controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
Contact was re-established on June 28 when Perseverance crested the hill and could see Ingenuity again. The helicopter is now back in communication with Earth and is being monitored by mission controllers.
Ingenuity’s successful recontact is a major milestone for the helicopter’s mission. The helicopter was originally designed to fly up to five times, but it has now exceeded that goal by a wide margin. Ingenuity has flown 51 times in total, covering a distance of 7.3 miles (11.7 kilometers) and reaching altitudes of up to 59.1 feet (18.0 meters).
Ingenuity’s success has paved the way for future aerial explorers on Mars. The helicopter’s data will help NASA to develop larger and more capable aerial vehicles that could be used to explore the Red Planet in greater detail.
The recontact of Ingenuity is a major victory for NASA and a testament to the ingenuity of the helicopter’s engineers. The helicopter’s continued success is a sign that the future of Mars exploration is bright.