posted 03-15-2022 06:34 PM               

NASA Extends Ingenuity Helicopter Mission

With its recent 21st flight complete, the Red Planet rotorcraft is on its way to setting more records during its second year of operations.

NASA has extended flight operations of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter through September. In the months ahead, history's first aircraft to operate from the surface of another world will support the Perseverance rover's upcoming science campaign exploring the ancient river delta of Jezero Crater. Along the way, it will continue testing its own capabilities to support the design of future Mars air vehicles.

Above: This annotated image depicts the multiple flights – and two different routes – NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter could take on its trip to Jezero Crater’s delta. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/USGS)

The announcement comes on the heels of the rotorcraft's 21st successful flight, the first of at least three needed for the helicopter to cross the northwest portion of a region known as "Séítah" and reach its next staging area.

"Less than a year ago we didn't even know if powered, controlled flight of an aircraft at Mars was possible," said Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. "Now, we are looking forward to Ingenuity's involvement in Perseverance's second science campaign. Such a transformation of mindset in such a short period is simply amazing, and one of the most historic in the annals of air and space exploration."

Ingenuity's new area of operations is entirely different from the modest, relatively flat terrain it has been flying over since its first flight last April. Several miles wide and formed by an ancient river, the fan-shaped delta rises more than 130 feet (40 meters) above the crater floor. Filled with jagged cliffs, angled surfaces, projecting boulders, and sand-filled pockets that could stop a rover in its tracks (or upend a helicopter upon landing), the delta promises to hold numerous geologic revelations – perhaps even the proof necessary to determine that microscopic life once existed on Mars billions of years ago.

Upon reaching the delta, Ingenuity's first orders will be to help determine which of two dry river channels Perseverance should take when it's time to climb to the top of the delta. Along with routing assistance, data provided by the helicopter will help the Perseverance team assess potential science targets. Ingenuity may even be called upon to image geologic features too far afield (or outside of the rover's traversable zone), or perhaps scout landing zones and caching sites for the Mars Sample Return program.

"The Jezero river delta campaign will be the biggest challenge the Ingenuity team faces since first flight at Mars," said Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity team lead at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. "To enhance our chances of success, we have increased the size of our team and are making upgrades to our flight software geared toward improving operational flexibility and flight safety."

Higher Flights

Several of these upgrades have led to reduced navigation errors during flight, which increases both flight and landing safety. A recent software change already on the rotorcraft frees Ingenuity from its previously programmed maximum altitude of 50 feet (15 meters). The altitude gains could result in incremental increases in both air speed and range. A second upgrade allows Ingenuity to change airspeed as it flies. Another enables it to better understand and adjust to changes in terrain texture during flight. Future software upgrades may include adding terrain elevation maps into the navigation filter and a landing-hazard-avoidance capability.

Before aerial reconnaissance of the delta can begin, Ingenuity has to complete its journey to the area. Scheduled for no earlier than March 19, Ingenuity's next flight will be a complex journey, about 1,150 feet (350 meters) in length, that includes a sharp bend in its course to avoid a large hill. After that, the team will determine whether two or three more flights will be required to complete the crossing of northwest Séítah.

The first experimental flight on another world took place on April 19, 2021, and lasted 39.1 seconds. After another four flights, six more minutes in the air, and traveling a total distance of 1,637 feet (499 meters), NASA transitioned Ingenuity into an operations demonstration phase, testing its ability to provide an aerial dimension to the Perseverance mission. With the completion of Flight 21, the rotorcraft has logged over 38 minutes aloft and traveled 2.9 miles (4.64 kilometers). As Ingenuity pushes farther into uncharted territory, these numbers will inevitably go up, and previous flight records will more than likely fall.

"This upcoming flight will be my 22nd entry in our logbook," said Ingenuity chief pilot Håvard Grip of JPL. "I remember thinking when this all started, we'd be lucky to have three entries and immensely fortunate to get five. Now, at the rate we're going, I'm going to need a second book."

posted 03-24-2022 09:42 PM               

Over the weekend, the Mars Helicopter took its 22nd flight! The trip lasted 101.4 seconds and Ingenuity got up to 10 meters in the air. The team is planning another flight perhaps as early as later this week.

23 flights and counting!

Mars Helicopter successfully completed its 23rd excursion. It flew for 129.1 seconds over 358 meters. Data from Ingenuity in the new region it's headed to will help the Perseverance team find potential science targets.

posted 04-12-2022 06:13 PM               

The Mars Helicopter completed its 24th flight on April 3.

Mars Helicopter is breaking records again!

Ingenuity completed its 25th and most ambitious flight. It broke its distance and ground speed records, traveling 704 meters at 5.5 meters per second while flying for 161.3 seconds.

posted 04-27-2022 03:21 PM               

NASA's Mars Helicopter Spots Gear That Helped Perseverance Rover Land

Eyeing some of the components that enabled the rover to get safely to the Martian surface could provide valuable insights for future missions.

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter recently surveyed both the parachute that helped the agency's Perseverance rover land on Mars and the cone-shaped backshell that protected the rover in deep space and during its fiery descent toward the Martian surface on Feb. 18, 2021. Engineers with the Mars Sample Return program asked whether Ingenuity could provide this perspective. What resulted were 10 aerial color images taken April 19 during Ingenuity's Flight 26.

Above: This image of Perseverance's backshell sitting upright on the surface of Jezero Crater was collected from an altitude of 26 feet (8 meters) by NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 26th flight at Mars on April 19, 2022.

"NASA extended Ingenuity flight operations to perform pioneering flights such as this," said Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity's team lead at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. "Every time we're airborne, Ingenuity covers new ground and offers a perspective no previous planetary mission could achieve. Mars Sample Return's reconnaissance request is a perfect example of the utility of aerial platforms on Mars."

Entry, descent, and landing on Mars is fast-paced and stressful, not only for the engineers back on Earth, but also for the vehicle enduring the gravitational forces, high temperatures, and other extremes that come with entering Mars' atmosphere at nearly 12,500 mph (20,000 kph). The parachute and backshell were previously imaged from a distance by the Perseverance rover.

But those collected by the rotorcraft (from an aerial perspective and closer) provide more detail. The images have the potential to help ensure safer landings for future spacecraft such as the Mars Sample Return Lander, which is part of a multimission campaign that would bring Perseverance's samples of Martian rocks, atmosphere, and sediment back to Earth for detailed analysis.

Above: This image of Perseverance's backshell and parachute was collected from an altitude of 26 feet (8 meters) by the NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 26th flight on Mars on April 19, 2022.

"Perseverance had the best-documented Mars landing in history, with cameras showing everything from parachute inflation to touchdown," said JPL's Ian Clark, former Perseverance systems engineer and now Mars Sample Return ascent phase lead. "But Ingenuity's images offer a different vantage point. If they either reinforce that our systems worked as we think they worked or provide even one dataset of engineering information we can use for Mars Sample Return planning, it will be amazing. And if not, the pictures are still phenomenal and inspiring."

In the images of the upright backshell and the debris field that resulted from it impacting the surface at about 78 mph (126 kph), the backshell's protective coating appears to have remained intact during Mars atmospheric entry. Many of the 80 high-strength suspension lines connecting the backshell to the parachute are visible and also appear intact. Spread out and covered in dust, only about a third of the orange-and-white parachute – at 70.5 feet (21.5 meters) wide, it was the biggest ever deployed on Mars – can be seen, but the canopy shows no signs of damage from the supersonic airflow during inflation. Several weeks of analysis will be needed for a more final verdict.

Flight 26 Maneuvers

Above: Perseverance's backshell, supersonic parachute, and associated debris field is seen strewn across the Martian surface in this image captured by NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 26th flight on April 19, 2022.

Ingenuity's 159-second flight began at 11:37 a.m. local Mars time April 19, on the one-year anniversary of its first flight. Flying 26 feet (8 meters) above ground level, Ingenuity traveled 630 feet (192 meters) to the southeast and took its first picture. The rotorcraft next headed southwest and then northwest, taking images at pre-planned locations along the route. Once it collected 10 images in its flash memory, Ingenuity headed west 246 feet (75 meters) and landed. Total distance covered: 1,181 feet (360 meters). With the completion of Flight 26, the rotorcraft has logged over 49 minutes aloft and traveled 3.9 miles (6.2 kilometers).

"To get the shots we needed, Ingenuity did a lot of maneuvering, but we were confident because there was complicated maneuvering on flights 10, 12, and 13," said Håvard Grip, chief pilot of Ingenuity at JPL. "Our landing spot set us up nicely to image an area of interest for the Perseverance science team on Flight 27, near 'Séítah' ridge."

The new area of operations in Jezero Crater's dry river delta marks a dramatic departure from the modest, relatively flat terrain Ingenuity had been flying over since its first flight. Several miles wide, the fan-shaped delta formed where an ancient river spilled into the lake that once filled Jezero Crater. Rising more than 130 feet (40 meters) above the crater floor and filled with jagged cliffs, angled surfaces, projecting boulders, and sand-filled pockets, the delta promises to hold numerous geologic revelations – perhaps even proof that microscopic life existed on Mars billions of years ago.

Upon reaching the delta, Ingenuity's first orders may be to help determine which of two dry river channels Perseverance should climb to reach the top of the delta. Along with route-planning assistance, data provided by the helicopter will help the Perseverance team assess potential science targets. Ingenuity may even be called upon to image geologic features too far afield for the rover to reach or to scout landing zones and sites on the surface where sample caches could be deposited for the Mars Sample Return program.

posted 05-09-2022 11:04 AM               

NASA's Ingenuity in Contact With Perseverance Rover After Communications Dropout

On Thursday, May 5, mission controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory received confirmation that the agency's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter had re-established communications with the Perseverance rover. Earlier in the week, 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. While more data downlinks and analysis are needed, the Ingenuity and Perseverance teams believe they have determined a cause of the anomaly as well as a plan to return to normal operations.

Ingenuity became the first powered aircraft to operate on another world on April 19, 2021. Designed to perform up to five experimental test flights over a span of 30 Martian days (sols), or close to 31 Earth days, the rotorcraft has flown over 4.2 miles (6.9 kilometers) across 28 sorties and operated from the surface of the Red Planet for over a year.

Data downlinked indicates that the communications dropout on May 3, Sol 427 of the Perseverance rover's mission at Mars, was a result of the solar-powered helicopter entering a low-power state, potentially due to the seasonal increase in the amount of dust in the Martian atmosphere and lower temperatures as winter approaches. The dust diminishes the amount of sunlight hitting the solar array, reducing Ingenuity's ability to recharge its six lithium-ion batteries. When the battery pack's state of charge dropped below a lower limit, the helicopter's field-programmable gate array (FPGA) was powered down.

The FPGA manages Ingenuity's operational state, switching the other avionics elements on and off as needed to maximize power conservation. It also operates the heaters that enable the helicopter to survive frigid Martian nights, maintains precise spacecraft time, and controls when the helicopter is scheduled to wake up for communications sessions with Perseverance.

When the FPGA lost power during the Martian night, the helicopter's onboard clock – which designates the time that communications with Perseverance occur – reset. And Ingenuity's heaters, so vital to keeping electronics and other components within operational temperatures – turned off. When the Sun rose the next morning and the solar array began to charge the batteries, the helicopter's clock was no longer in sync with the clock aboard the rover. Essentially, when Ingenuity thought it was time to contact Perseverance, the rover's base station wasn't listening.

To make sure Perseverance would hear a call, Perseverance mission controllers at JPL commanded the rover to spend almost all of Sol 429 (May 5) listening for the helicopter's signal. It came at 11:45 a.m. local Mars time. The data transmitted was limited to deliberately preserve battery charge, but the helicopter's critical health and safety data were nominal. The radio link between Ingenuity and Perseverance was stable, spacecraft temperatures were within expectation, the solar array was recharging the battery at a rate expected for this season, and the battery was healthy, containing 41% of a full charge.

But one radio communications session does not mean Ingenuity is out of the woods. The increased (light-reducing) dust in the air means charging the helicopter's batteries to a level that will allow important components (like the clock and heaters) to remain energized throughout the night presents a significant challenge.

Each night for the past three sols, Ingenuity's heaters have kicked in when its battery temperature was below 5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 15 degrees Celsius). While on, the heaters kept the temperature of vital helicopter components from dropping farther – down to the ambient environmental temperature of minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 80 degrees Celsius). But the team believes that the battery couldn't sustain the energy draw of the onboard heaters throughout the night.

"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," said Ingenuity Team Lead Teddy Tzanetos of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. "Every flight and every mile of distance flown beyond our original 30-sol mission has pushed the spacecraft to its limits each and every sol on Mars."

The Ingenuity and Perseverance teams have designed a plan they hope will make a difference. Their goal is to help the helicopter's battery accumulate enough of a charge during the next few sols so that it could support all necessary spacecraft systems during the cold Martian night. Uplinked yesterday, the new commands lower the point at which the helicopter energizes its heaters from when the battery falls below 5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 15 degrees Celsius) to minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 40 degrees Celsius). The helicopter then shuts down quickly, rather than consuming the battery charge with the heaters. The team hopes this strategy will allow the battery to retain whatever charge it collected during the day. The Ingenuity engineers hope that after several days of the helicopter's array soaking in the limited rays, the battery will have reached a point where the spacecraft can return to normal operations.

Allowing the heaters to remain off overnight will conserve significant battery energy but will also expose components to the cold of Martian night. Developed as a technology demonstration to prove that powered, controlled flight on Mars is possible, the 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) rotorcraft carries many commercial off-the-shelf parts that weren't designed for the cold of deep space operations.

"Our top priority is to maintain communications with Ingenuity in the next few sols, but even then, we know that there will be significant challenges ahead," said Tzanetos. "I could not be prouder of our team's performance over the last year, let alone our aircraft's incredible achievements on Mars. We are hopeful that we can accumulate battery charge in order to return to nominal operations and continue our mission into the weeks ahead."

posted 07-13-2022 09:06 PM               

Mars Helicopter can’t stop, won’t stop! Ingenuity completed its 26th flight on the one-year anniversary of its first flight on Mars.

Scouting for the rover.

Mars Helicopter completed Flight 27 on April 23 and surveyed a ridgeline for Perseverance's science team. Data from this geologic feature of interest indicate it’s a major boundary between two rock units on the crater floor.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory update for June 14, 2022 (via Twitter):

The Mars Helicopter successfully completed Flight 29 over the weekend, its first since the start of winter operations at the end of April. On this 66.6-second flight, Ingenuity traveled at 5.5 m/s for 179 m.

posted 07-13-2022 09:07 PM               

Ingenuity Postpones Flights Until August

It’s now dust season and winter on Mars, meaning there’s more dust in the air and less sunlight to help recharge Ingenuity’s batteries. Dust levels are expected to subside later in July, so the team has decided to give the helicopter’s batteries a break for a few weeks and build their daily state of charge back up. Weather permitting, Ingenuity is expected to be back in the air around the start of August.

posted 08-22-2022 06:56 PM               

The Mars Helicopter is back in flight! After a two-month hiatus, the rotorcraft did a short hop over the weekend so the team can check its vitals and knock some dust off the solar panel.

Learn more about why the team wanted a simple Flight 30.

posted 09-07-2022 07:41 PM               

We had liftoff!

Mars Helicopter completed a successful Flight 31 on September 6. Ingenuity flew 318 ft (97 m) west towards the Jezero river delta, in 55.6 seconds.

• Max Altitude: 33 ft (10 m)
  
• Distance: 319 ft (97.2 m)

posted 09-20-2022 12:23 PM               

The Mars Helicopter completed Flight 32 over the weekend! The 55.3-second flight covered 93.74m at a max speed of 4.75 meters per second. Full details on the flight log.

posted 09-30-2022 10:43 AM               

Over the weekend (Sept. 24), Mars Helicopter successfully completed Flight 33! The rotorcraft reached an altitude of 10 meters (33 ft) and traveled 111.24 meters (365 ft) in 55.2 seconds. If you look closely at this image, you'll see Ingenuity's leg and tiny shadow.

posted 11-23-2022 05:22 PM               

The Mars Helicopter completes the shortest flight in Martian aviation history!

Ingenuity conducted a short hover for Flight 34, popping up 16 feet (5 meters) for 18 seconds. This flight tested out the capabilities of a major software update.

posted 12-07-2022 05:55 PM               

An all-time high for the Mars Helicopter!

Ingenuity completed Flight 35 over the weekend and set a new max altitude record, hitting 46 feet (14 meters) above the Martian surface.

posted 12-19-2022 09:30 PM               

Over the weekend, the Mars Helicopter completed Flight 37!

Ingenuity traveled 203 feet (62 meters) above the Martian surface for 55.16 seconds at a maximum altitude of 33 feet (10 meters) to reposition itself and test new flight software capabilities.

posted 01-12-2023 05:25 PM               

Ingenuity is flying into 2023!

Mars Helicopter completed Flight 38 this week [Jan. 6], traveling 363 feet (110 meters) above the Martian surface for 74.26 seconds at a maximum altitude of 33 feet (10 meters) to reposition itself.

Mars Helicopter keeps exploring the Martian skies!

Ingenuity recently completed Flight 39. The rotorcraft stayed aloft for about 79 seconds, traveling 460 feet (140.25 meters) at an altitude of 33 feet (10 meters) and returning to its original take-off location.

posted 01-20-2023 02:42 PM               

This is 40.

Mars Helicopter recently [Jan. 19] completed Flight 40. Ingenuity stayed aloft for 91.62 seconds, traveling 584 feet (178 meters) at an altitude of 33 feet (10 meters).

posted 02-07-2023 03:52 PM               

Cheers to a successful Flight 41!

Ingenuity took to the Martian skies [on Jan. 27] to provide an aerial view of the area for the Perseverance team. The Mars Helicopter's out-and-back flight covered 600 feet (183 meters) in 109 seconds.

42 = the meaning of life, the universe, and everything.

Ingenuity completed Flight 42 this weekend (Feb. 4)! The Mars Helicopter traveled 814 ft (248 m) across the Martian surface for 137.17 seconds at a max. altitude of 33 ft (10 m).

posted 02-22-2023 11:17 AM               

Over the weekend [Feb. 19], Ingenuity completed Flight 44, traveling 1095 ft (333.81 m) across the Martian surface for 141.26 seconds.

Next up: The Mars Helicopter will attempt Flight 45 as soon as today [Feb. 22] as it continues its journey up the delta.

posted 03-13-2023 01:43 PM               

Flight 46 took place on Feb. 25, 2023. The 135.9 second trip from Airfield Eta to Airfield Theta covered 445 meters (1,460 feet) at a maximum altitude of 12 meters (39 feet).

Jet Propulsion Laboratory update (via Twitter):

Ingenuity has completed Flight 47 [on March 9, 2023]!

The Mars Helicopter traveled 1,443 feet (440 meters) across the Martian surface for 146 seconds at a maximum altitude of 40 feet (12 meters).

posted 04-04-2023 09:44 PM               

The Mars Helicopter lands another flight!

Ingenuity successfully completed Flight 48 yesterday [March 21]. The rotorcraft reached an altitude of 39 feet (12 meters) and traveled 1,305 feet (398 meters) for 149.9 seconds.

posted 04-14-2023 08:55 AM               

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Completes 50th Flight

The history-making rotorcraft has recently been negotiating some of the most hazardous terrain it's encountered on the Red Planet.

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has completed its 50th flight on Mars. The first aircraft on another world reached the half-century mark on April 13, traveling over 1,057.09 feet (322.2 meters) in 145.7 seconds. The helicopter also achieved a new altitude record of 59 feet (18 meters) before alighting near the half-mile-wide (800-meter-wide) "Belva Crater."

With Flight 50 in the mission logbook, the helicopter team plans to perform another repositioning flight before exploring the "Fall River Pass" region of Jezero Crater.

"Just as the Wright brothers continued their experiments well after that momentous day at Kitty Hawk in 1903, the Ingenuity team continues to pursue and learn from the flight operations of the first aircraft on another world," said Lori Glaze, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Ingenuity landed on the Red Planet in February 2021 attached to the belly of NASA's Mars Perseverance rover and will soon mark the two-year anniversary of its first flight, which took place on April 19, 2021. Designed as a technology demonstration that would fly no more than five times, the helicopter was intended to prove powered, controlled flight on another planet was possible. But Ingenuity exceeded expectations and transitioned into being an operations demonstration.

Every time Ingenuity goes airborne, it covers new ground and offers a perspective no previous planetary mission could achieve. Imagery from the helicopter has not only demonstrated how aircraft could serve as forward scouts for future planetary expeditions, but it has even come in handy for the Perseverance team.

By testing the helicopter's limits, engineers are gathering flight data that can be used by engineers working on designs for possible future Mars helicopters. That includes the people designing the Mars Sample Return campaign's proposed Sample Recovery Helicopters.

Riskier Terrain

Since leaving the relatively flat confines of Jezero Crater's floor on Jan. 19, Ingenuity has flown 11 times, setting new speed and altitude records of 14.5 mph (6.5 meters per second) and 59 feet (18 meters) along the way.

Although the deep chill of winter and regional dust events (which can block the Sun's rays from reaching the helicopter's solar panel) have abated, Ingenuity continues to brown out at night. As a result, the Helicopter Base Station on the rover needs to search for the rotorcraft's signal each morning at the time Ingenuity is predicted to wake up. And when the helicopter does fly, it now must navigate rugged and relatively uncharted terrain, landing in spots that can be surrounded by hazards.

"We are not in Martian Kansas anymore," said Josh Anderson, Ingenuity operations lead at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. "We're flying over the dried-up remnants of an ancient river that is filled with sand dunes, boulders, and rocks, and surrounded by hills that could have us for lunch. And while we recently upgraded the navigation software onboard to help determine safe airfields, every flight is still a white-knuckler."

Frequent Flyer

Beyond facing more challenging terrain, Ingenuity will also fly at a greater frequency in the coming days because the helicopter needs to remain within electronic earshot of the rover. With its AutoNav capability, Perseverance can travel hundreds of meters each day.

"Ingenuity relies on Perseverance to act as a communications relay between it and mission controllers here at JPL," said Anderson. "If the rover gets too far ahead or disappears behind a hill, we could lose communications. The rover team has a job to do and a schedule to keep. So it's imperative Ingenuity keeps up and is in the lead whenever possible."

Perseverance recently completed exploring "Foel Drygarn," a scientific target that may contain hydrated silica (which is of strong astrobiological interest). It is currently headed to "Mount Julian," which will provide a panoramic view into nearby Belva Crater.

Feats of Ingenuity

Built with many off-the-shelf components, such as smartphone processors and cameras, Ingenuity is now 23 Earth months and 45 flights beyond its expected lifetime. The rotorcraft has flown for over 89 minutes and more than 7.1 miles (11.6 kilometers).

"When we first flew, we thought we would be incredibly lucky to eke out five flights," said Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity team lead at JPL. "We have exceeded our expected cumulative flight time since our technology demonstration wrapped by 1,250% and expected distance flown by 2,214%."

Surpassing expectations like this comes at a cost, however. With some helicopter components showing signs of wear and the terrain becoming more challenging, the Ingenuity team recognizes that every great mission must eventually come to an end. "We have come so far, and we want to go farther," said Tzanetos. "But we have known since the very beginning our time at Mars was limited, and every operational day is a blessing. Whether Ingenuity's mission ends tomorrow, next week, or months from now is something no one can predict at present. What I can predict is that when it does, we'll have one heck of a party."

posted 06-30-2023 07:58 PM               

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Phones Home

The 52nd flight of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is now in the official mission logbook as a success. The flight took place back on April 26, but mission controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California lost contact with the helicopter as it descended toward the surface for landing.

Above: NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was captured by the Perseverance rover's Mastcam-Z on April 16, not long after the rotorcraft's 50th flight. The helicopter would soon fall silent for 63 days due hilly terrain that interrupted communications between the rover and aircraft. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS)

The Ingenuity team expected the communications dropout because a hill stood 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. In anticipation of this loss of communications, the Ingenuity team had already developed re-contact plans for when the rover would drive back within range. Contact was re-established June 28 when Perseverance crested the hill and could see Ingenuity again.

The goal of Flight 52, a 1,191-foot (363-meter) and 139-second-long flight, was to reposition the helicopter and take images of the Martian surface for the rover's science team.

"The portion of Jezero Crater the rover and helicopter are currently exploring has a lot of rugged terrain, which makes communications dropouts more likely," said JPL's Josh Anderson, the Ingenuity team lead. "The team's goal is to keep Ingenuity ahead of Perseverance, which occasionally involves temporarily pushing beyond communication limits. We're excited to be back in communications range with Ingenuity and receive confirmation of Flight 52."

Sixty-three days is a long time to wait for the results of a flight, but the data coming in indicates all is well with the first aircraft on another world. If the remainder of Ingenuity's health checks are equally rosy, the helicopter may fly again within the next couple of weeks.

The target for Flight 53 is an interim airfield to the west, from which the team plans to perform another westward flight to a new base of operations near a rocky outcrop the Perseverance team is interested in exploring.

posted 08-08-2023 09:51 AM               

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Flies Again After Unscheduled Landing

The helicopter performed a short hop to help the team better understand why its previous flight was interrupted.

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter successfully completed its 54th flight on Aug. 3, the first flight since the helicopter cut its July 22 flight short. The 25-second up-and-down hop provided data that could help the Ingenuity team determine why its 53rd flight ended early.

Above: This view of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was generated using data collected by the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard the agency's Perseverance Mars rover on Aug. 2, 2023, the 871st Martian day, or sol, of the mission, one day before the rotorcraft's 54th flight. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS)

Flight 53 was planned as a 136-second scouting flight dedicated to collecting imagery of the planet's surface for the Perseverance Mars rover science team. The complicated flight profile included flying north 666 feet (203 meters) at an altitude of 16 feet (5 meters) and a speed of 5.6 mph (2.5 meters per second), then descending vertically to 8 feet (2.5 meters), where it would hover and obtain imagery of a rocky outcrop. Ingenuity would then climb straight up to 33 feet (10 meters) to allow its hazard divert system to initiate before descending vertically to touch down.

Instead, the helicopter executed the first half of its autonomous journey, flying north at an altitude of 16 feet (5 meters) for 466 feet (142 meters). Then a flight-contingency program was triggered, and Ingenuity automatically landed. The total flight time was 74 seconds.

"Since the very first flight we have included a program called 'LAND_NOW' that was designed to put the helicopter on the surface as soon as possible if any one of a few dozen off-nominal scenarios was encountered," said Teddy Tzanetos, team lead emeritus for Ingenuity at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. "During Flight 53, we encountered one of these, and the helicopter worked as planned and executed an immediate landing."

Above: This image of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover – visible at the top, right of center – was taken at an altitude of about 16 feet (5 meters) by the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 54th flight on Aug. 3, 2023, 872nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS)

The Ingenuity team is confident that the early landing was triggered when image frames from the helicopter's navigation camera didn't sync up as expected with data from the rotorcraft's inertial measurement unit. The unit measures Ingenuity's acceleration and rotational rates – data that makes it possible to estimate where the helicopter is, how fast it is moving, and how it is oriented in space. This was not the first occasion on which image frames were dropped by the helicopter's Navcam during a flight. Back on May 22, 2021, multiple image frames were dropped, resulting in excessive pitching and rolling near the end of Flight 6.

After Flight 6, the team updated the flight software to help mitigate the impact of dropped images, and the fix worked well for the subsequent 46 flights. However, on Flight 53 the quantity of dropped navigation images exceeded what the software patch allows.

"While we hoped to never trigger a LAND_NOW, this flight is a valuable case study that will benefit future aircraft operating on other worlds," said Tzanetos. "The team is working to better understand what occurred in Flight 53, and with Flight 54's success we're confident that our baby is ready to keep soaring ahead on Mars."

posted 12-22-2023 10:36 AM               

Over the last 9 months, the Ingenuity team has doubled our maximum flight altitude limit from 12 to 24 meters, nearly doubled our max speed from 5.5 m/s to 10 m/s, increased our maximum horizontal and vertical acceleration, and validated both soft- and hard-landing approaches. Despite this rapid pace, the team isn’t slowing down. We intend to keep pushing to see what new things can be learned and what new capabilities can be mastered with our small helicopter on the Red Planet.

• Flight 55 on Aug. 12, 2023 was 142.9 seconds long, flying 866 feet (264 meters) at a maximum altitude of 33 feet (10 meters) at 10.5 mph (4.7 m/s).

• Flight 56 on Aug. 25, 2023 was 140.9 seconds long, flying 1,345 feet (410 meters) at a maximum altitude of 39 feet (12 meters) at 11.9 mph (5.3 m/s).

• Flight 57 on Sept. 3, 2023 was 128.6 seconds long, flying 712 feet (217 meters) at a maximum altitude of 33 feet (10 meters) at 6.7 mph (3 m/s).

• Flight 58 on Sept. 11, 2023 was 106.8 seconds long, flying 571 feet (174 meters) at a maximum altitude of 33 feet (10 meters) at 6.7 mph (3 m/s).

• Flight 59 on Sept. 16, 2023 was 142.6 seconds long, flying straight up to a maximum altitude of 66 feet (20 meters).

• Flight 60 on Sept. 25, 2023 was 132.8 seconds long, flying 1,116 feet (340 meters) at a maximum altitude of 52 feet (16 meters) at 17.9 mph (8 m/s).

• Flight 61 on Oct. 5, 2023 was 129.5 seconds long, flying straight up to a maximum altitude of 79 feet (24 meters).

• Flight 62 on Oct. 12, 2023 was 121.1 seconds long, flying 880 feet (268 meters) at a maximum altitude of 59 feet (18 meters) at 22.4 mph (10 m/s).

• Flight 63 on Oct. 19, 2023 was 142.6 seconds long, flying 1,901 feet (579 meters) at a maximum altitude of 39 feet (12 meters) at 14.1 mph (6.3 m/s).

• Flight 64 on Oct. 27, 2023 was 139.1 seconds long, flying 1,348 feet (411 meters) at a maximum altitude of 39 feet (12 meters) at 13 mph (5.8 m/s).

• Flight 65 on Nov. 2, 2023 was 48 seconds long, flying 23 feet (7 meters) at a maximum altitude of 33 feet (10 meters) at 2.2 mph (1 m/s).

• Flight 66 on Nov. 3, 2023 was 23 seconds long, flying 2 feet (0.6 meters) at a maximum altitude of 10 feet (3 meters) at 2.2 mph (1 m/s).

• Flight 67 on Dec. 2, 2023 was 135.9 seconds long, flying 1,289 feet (393 meters) at a maximum altitude of 39 feet (12 meters) at 11.9 mph (5.3 m/s).

• Flight 68 on Dec. 15, 2023 was 131.1 seconds long, flying 2,304 feet (702 meters) at a maximum altitude of 52 feet (16 meters) at 22.4 mph (10 m/s).

• Flight 69 on Dec. 20, 2023 was 135.4 seconds long, flying 2,315 feet (705 meters) at a maximum altitude of 52 feet (16 meters) at 22.4 mph (10 m/s).

posted 01-03-2024 11:43 AM               

Flying into the new year!

The Mars Helicopter completed Flight 70 - traveling 260 meters [853 feet] in 132 seconds. That's nearly the length of 9 blue whales!

posted 01-19-2024 09:40 PM               

Flight 72 Status Update

On Jan. 18, NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter executed its 72nd flight at the Red Planet. The flight was designed as a quick pop-up vertical flight to check out the helicopter's systems, following an unplanned early landing during its previous flight.

Data Ingenuity sent to the Perseverance rover (which acts as a relay between the helicopter and Earth) during the flight indicates it successfully climbed to its assigned maximum altitude of 40 feet (12 meters). During its planned descent, communications between the helicopter and rover terminated early, prior to touchdown.

The Ingenuity team is analyzing available data and considering next steps to reestablish communications with the helicopter.

posted 01-21-2024 11:24 AM               

Good news today: We've reestablished contact with the Mars Helicopter after instructing Perseverance to perform long-duration listening sessions for Ingenuity’s signal.

The team is reviewing the new data to better understand the unexpected comms dropout during Flight 72.

posted 01-25-2024 01:43 PM               

NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter mission ends after 72 flights

The first vehicle to achieve powered flight on another world has flown its last flight.

"Ingenuity," NASA's first helicopter to soar over Mars, suffered damaged to one or more of its rotor blades while completing its 72nd flight. While the small craft is still upright on the Martian surface and in communication with its flight controllers back on Earth, Ingenuity is no longer capable of lifting off into the thin Martian air.

posted 04-17-2024 08:35 AM               

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Team Says Goodbye ... for Now

The final downlink shift by the Ingenuity team was a time to reflect on a highly successful mission — and to prepare the first aircraft on another world for its new role.

Engineers working on NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter assembled for one last time in a control room at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on Tuesday, April 16, to monitor a transmission from the history-making helicopter. While the mission ended Jan. 25, the rotorcraft has remained in communication with the agency's Perseverance Mars rover, which serves as a base station for Ingenuity. This transmission, received through the antennas of NASA's Deep Space Network, marked the final time the mission team would be working together on Ingenuity operations.

Now the helicopter is ready for its final act: to serve as a stationary testbed, collecting data that could benefit future explorers of the Red Planet.

"With apologies to Dylan Thomas, Ingenuity will not be going gently into that good Martian night," said Josh Anderson, Ingenuity team lead at JPL. "It is almost unbelievable that after over 1,000 Martian days on the surface, 72 flights, and one rough landing, she still has something to give. And thanks to the dedication of this amazing team, not only did Ingenuity overachieve beyond our wildest dreams, but also it may teach us new lessons in the years to come."

Originally designed as a short-lived technology demonstration mission that would perform up to five experimental test flights over 30 days, the first aircraft on another world operated from the Martian surface for almost three years, flew more than 14 times farther than the distance expected, and logged more than two hours of total flight time.

Ingenuity's mission ended after the helicopter experienced a hard landing on its last flight, significantly damaging its rotor blades. Unable to fly, the rotorcraft will remain at "Valinor Hills" while the Perseverance rover drives out of communications range as it continues to explore the western limb of Jezero Crater.

Bytes and Cake

The team enjoyed some "Final Comms" chocolate cake while reviewing the latest data from over 189 million miles (304 million kilometers) away. The telemetry confirmed that a software update previously beamed up to Ingenuity was operating as expected. The new software contains commands that direct the helicopter to continue collecting data well after communications with the rover have ceased.

With the software patch in place, Ingenuity will now wake up daily, activate its flight computers, and test the performance of its solar panel, batteries, and electronic equipment. In addition, the helicopter will take a picture of the surface with its color camera and collect temperature data from sensors placed throughout the rotorcraft. Ingenuity's engineers and Mars scientists believe such long-term data collection could not only benefit future designers of aircraft and other vehicles for the Red Planet, but also provide a long-term perspective on Martian weather patterns and dust movement.

During this final gathering, the team received a farewell message from Ingenuity featuring the names of people who worked on the mission. Mission controllers at JPL sent the message to Perseverance the day before, which handed it off to Ingenuity so that it could transmit the farewell back to Earth.

Decades of Room

If a critical electrical component on Ingenuity were to fail in the future, causing data collection to stop, or if the helicopter eventually loses power because of dust accumulation on its solar panel, whatever information Ingenuity has collected will remain stored on board. The team has calculated Ingenuity's memory could potentially hold about 20 years' worth of daily data.

"Whenever humanity revisits Valinor Hills — either with a rover, a new aircraft, or future astronauts — Ingenuity will be waiting with her last gift of data, a final testament to the reason we dare mighty things," said Ingenuity's project manager, Teddy Tzanetos of JPL. "Thank you, Ingenuity, for inspiring a small group of people to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds at the frontiers of space."

Tzanetos and other Ingenuity alumni are currently researching how future Mars helicopters — including the Mars Science Helicopter concept — could benefit explorations of the Red Planet and beyond.