NASA’s Ingenuity Martian helicopter finally “called” home

Due to the rough terrain, Ingenuity was unable to communicate with its “partner”, the Perseverance rover.

The US Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA announced that the two-month period of silence of the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars has ended. Ingenuity contacted its curators on June 28 through its partner, the Perseverance rover. This was the first communication session since April 26, 2023.

Then the 52nd helicopter flight took place at the bottom of the Martian crater Jezero. Mission controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California lost contact with the helicopter as it descended to the surface for a landing.

The team expected communications to fail because there was a hill between the helicopter landing site and the Perseverance rover’s position, blocking communications between them. The rover acts as a radio relay between the helicopter and mission controllers at JPL. For the loss of communication, the Ingenuity team prepared and developed a plan for re-contact in advance. Communication was restored on June 28 when Perseverance climbed to the top of the hill and “saw” Ingenuity again.

NASA’s Ingenuity Martian helicopter finally “called” home

JPL Ingenuity team leader Josh Anderson said:

The part of the Lake Crater currently being explored by the rover and helicopter has rugged terrain, making communication outages more likely. The team’s goal is to keep Ingenuity above Perseverance, which sometimes requires going out of communication temporarily. We are very pleased to be back in touch with Ingenuity and have confirmation of Flight 52. 

NASA emphasized:

Sixty-three days is a long time in terms of waiting for the results of the flight, but the incoming data shows that everything is in order with the first alien helicopter. If the rest of Ingenuity’s health check results are as rosy, the helicopter could fly again within the next few weeks.