NASA's Mars Helicopter Ingenuity Has Reestablished Contact With Perseverance Rover: Here's What Happened

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) last week said its miniature Mars helicopter Ingenuity has reestablished contact with the Perseverance rover, after it missed a scheduled call-in about two days earlier.

What Happened: The rotorcraft had missed a planned communications session with the rover for the first time in over a year of operations on the Mars surface. 

Ingenuity relies on Perseverance as the base station that enables it to send data to and receive commands from Earth. 

“We have always known that Martian winter and dust storm season would present new challenges for Ingenuity, specifically colder sols, an increase in atmospheric dust, and more frequent dust storms,” Team Lead Teddy Tzanetos of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California said. 

NASA said the Ingenuity and Perseverance teams believe they have determined the cause of the anomaly, and have developed a plan to return to normal operations. 

See Also: SpaceX Said To Be Planning Starship Test Flight Soon Amid FAA Approval Delay

Why It Matters: Ingenuity is a small robotic helicopter operating on Mars as part of NASA's Mars 2020 mission along with the Perseverance rover, which landed on February 18, 2021. 

Designed to perform up to five experimental test flights spread over a month, Ingenuity became the first powered aircraft to operate on a different planet in April 2021. 

Ingenuity's 25th successful flight last month set new records for highest speed and distance traveled during a single flight

Space related action has been picking up pace in recent years as many private players jumping in, including Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk-owned SpaceX. Musk dreams of colonizing Mars and has been working towards that goal.

Photo: Courtesy of nasa.gov