NASA Loses Contact with Mars Helicopter Ingenuity

 NASA Loses Contact with Mars Helicopter Ingenuity

NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter has gone silent.

The team lost contact with the 4-pound (1.8 kilograms) chopper on Thursday during its 72nd flight on the Red Planet. Despite successfully reaching its assigned maximum altitude of 40 feet (12 meters), communication between Ingenuity and the Perseverance rover, acting as a link to Earth, ceased earlier than expected during its descent.

In an update on Friday, NASA officials stated, "The Ingenuity team is analyzing available data and considering next steps to reestablish communications with the helicopter." The situation has prompted a closer look at potential solutions to reconnect with the pioneering helicopter.

Ingenuity and Perseverance touched down together in February 2021 within the 28-mile-wide (45 kilometers) Jezero Crater, once home to a significant lake and river delta billions of years ago. While Perseverance explores for signs of past Martian life and gathers samples for future return to Earth, Ingenuity serves as a scout for the car-sized rover, extending its mission following a successful five-flight technology demonstration in the spring of 2021.

As Ingenuity's handlers evaluate their options, there is a possibility that Perseverance, currently out of sight from Ingenuity, might play a role in resolving the communication issue. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California suggested the team could contemplate moving Perseverance closer for a visual inspection.

Ingenuity's impressive track record includes over 128 minutes of flight time and covering a total distance of 11 miles (17.7 kilometers) during its 72 flights on Mars. The uncertainty remains about whether these numbers will continue to grow, pending successful reestablishment of communication with the groundbreaking chopper – the first vehicle to explore the skies of a world beyond Earth.

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