[Reading Science] Mars Helicopter Nearly Lost After Landing Error

NASA "Communication Resumed After 63 Days"
"Communication Failed Due to Incorrect Landing Location in Previous Flight"

The Mars helicopter, which had been showing unexpected performance, nearly became lost due to misjudging its landing location. In the previous flight, it landed on the opposite side of a hill from its mothership, the Perseverance rover, causing communication with Earth to be cut off for a while. However, after breaking a long silence of 63 days, communication was successfully reestablished, and preparations for the 53rd flight have begun.

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity. Photo by NASA website

The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) announced on the 1st that it successfully resumed communication with the Mars helicopter 'Ingenuity' on the 28th of last month. Ingenuity had lost communication for a full 63 days after its 52nd flight on April 26th, when it flew on the floor of Jezero Crater on Mars. During the 52nd flight, Ingenuity flew for 139 seconds, ascending to a height of 363 meters before descending. This was to take photos of the accompanying Perseverance rover and to relocate itself. However, during this process, it nearly became 'lost.' A hill stood between Perseverance and Ingenuity, obstructing communication. Communication between Ingenuity and the NASA operations team is only possible through Perseverance.

After much effort, the NASA operations team succeeded in reconnecting with Ingenuity on the 28th of last month, after 63 days. Furthermore, data reception confirmed that Ingenuity's condition remains normal for the time being. After additional inspections to check for any abnormalities, if no issues are found, the 53rd flight is planned to be conducted within weeks.

Ingenuity, a small unmanned helicopter weighing 1.8 kg, landed in Jezero Crater alongside the Perseverance rover, which is tasked with collecting surface samples on Mars, in February 2021. It serves as a scout to research flight technology on an alien planet with a thin atmosphere and low gravity, and to explore the path ahead for Perseverance. Although only about four flights were initially planned, it has demonstrated remarkable vitality, surpassing 50 flights by a wide margin. However, in early April, Ingenuity experienced a six-day communication blackout, causing the operations team considerable anxiety.

NASA's lunar landing exploration rover 'VIPER,' currently under development, is demonstrating the action of disembarking from the lander. Photo by NASA website

In a statement, JPL explained, "The Jezero Crater region currently being explored by Perseverance and Ingenuity has many rugged terrains, increasing the likelihood of communication disruptions. Our goal is for Ingenuity to continue serving as a scout ahead of Perseverance, which may occasionally result in temporary communication outages."

Meanwhile, NASA revealed the development status of the prototype for the lunar exploration rover 'VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover),' scheduled to launch at the end of next year. VIPER is expected to be sent to the lunar surface at the end of next year to search for water presumed to be buried underground in the polar regions for about 100 days. To this end, NASA commissioned Astrobotic to develop the Griffin lunar lander. On this day, NASA demonstrated the process of VIPER disembarking from the Griffin lunar lander using two thin and long legs. This disembarkation process, which takes several hours, can be very challenging if the terrain and slope where the lander touches down are steep or uneven, making it the most critical and difficult step for VIPER to begin its mission.

Concept image of the lunar lander 'Griffin' being developed by the U.S. space startup Astrobotic.