(Photo : NASA/JPL-Caltech via Getty Images)
JPL engineers say Ingenuity’s radio silence was because it lost its line of sight with Perseverance.
After two months of radio silence, the Mars helicopter Ingenuity communicated back to Earth. NASA announced it got in touch with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) through its robotic partner, the Perseverance Rover, on June 28.
The JPL team at Caltech lost contact with Ingenuity toward the end of its 52nd flight on Mars's Jezero Crater floor.
"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 Ingenuity team lead Josh Anderson in a statement.
He explained that his team aimed to keep the chopper ahead of Perseverance as its terrain and conditions scout. This meant they occasionally pushed beyond communication limits temporarily. "We're excited to be back in communications range with Ingenuity and receive confirmation of Flight 52," he added.
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Performing Beyond Expectations
NASA officials detailed that Ingenuity covered 1,191 feet (363 meters) of ground on the 139-second-long Flight 52, with its main goal of repositioning it ahead of Perseverance and taking photos for the team back on Earth.
The flight data they received suggested Ingenuity remained in good shape and could fly again within the next few weeks, team members said.
Perseverance and Ingenuity initially landed on the surface of Mars in February 2021. The helicopter quickly aced its five-flight test mission to demonstrate the feasibility of aerial exploration on the red planet. After the success of the primary mission, Ingenuity's extended mission was to serve as a scout for Perseverance.
The silent spell was not the first time, as there was a similar incident in early April where Ingenuity went dark for six days. Engineers say the communication outage with the chopper was likely caused by its lack of line of sight with Perseverance.
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