Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Re-Establishes Contact After 63 Days

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has made contact with mission controllers at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, after being silent for 63 days. All indications are that the first aircraft on another world is in good health. The helicopter, which was originally meant to perform only five test flights, exceeded all expectations and has completed a record 52 flights on Mars. On its 52nd flight on April 26, mission controllers lost contact with the helicopter as it descended toward the surface for landing. This was due to a hill between the helicopter’s landing location and the Perseverance rover’s position, blocking communication between the two. The rover acts as a radio relay between the helicopter and mission controllers at JPL.

The team developed re-contact plans in the event of the communications dropout, and contact was successfully re-established on June 28 when Perseverance crested the hill and could see Ingenuity again. The goal of Flight 52 was to reposition the helicopter and take images of the Martian surface for the rover's science team. After receiving the new flight data, it appears that Ingenuity remains in good health and may fly again within the next couple of weeks. The successful performance of Ingenuity marks a new milestone for the mission and for NASA. The remarkable achievement of the helicopter demonstrates the potential of the technology to explore and discover on other worlds. The helicopter's ability to fly in an atmosphere very different from Earth's also provides invaluable data for future Mars exploration. It is clear that the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has made history and is set to achieve even more in the future. With every flight, the mission moves closer to its goal of paving the way for Mars exploration.