NASA reestablishes connection with Ingenuity Mars mini-copter after 63-day hiatus

By Yavuz Aydin

ANKARA (AA) - The connection between NASA and its Ingenuity mini-helicopter, which makes flights to explore places on Mars that the Perseverance rover would take weeks to reach, was reestablished on June 28 after being cut off for over two months, according to a report by CNN.

Ingenuity was disconnected from the US mission control team during its 52nd flight this April 26, fully 63 days before connection was reestablished.

Although it has not yet been confirmed whether Ingenuity, the first manmade aircraft on another planet, made a safe landing, it was announced that it is still operating and its whereabouts were determined.

All Ingenuity's communication with NASA go through the Perseverance, and it is likely a hill between the two vehicles resulted in the long hiatus, said the US space agency.

"The area that the ground vehicle and helicopter are currently exploring in Jezero Crater is very rough terrain, resulting in occasional loss of communication," said Josh Anderson, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Ingenuity team leader.

With the connection reestablished, Ingenuity transmitted its most recent messages to Earth, including data from its April 26 flight of 363 meters (1,191 feet), which lasted 139 seconds.

Scientists are planning a new flight mission for Ingenuity in a few weeks, after their systems are confirmed to be running smoothly.

- Ingenuity landed on Mars in 2021

The Perseverance rover, built at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and powered by plutonium fuel, landed on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021, seven months after its launch on July 30, 2020.

The mini-helicopter, weighing only 1.8 kilograms (4 pounds), made history as the first aircraft to be flown on another planet with its first successful one-minute flight on April 19, 2021.

Because the density of the atmosphere on Mars is about 1% that of Earth, NASA engineers used ultralight materials and four propellers, each 1.23 meters (4 feet) long, to lift Ingenuity off the ground.

*Writing by Emre Basaran​​​​​​​