NASA lost contact with its small helicopter called Ingenuity on the surface of Mars, while on its 72nd flight, the space agency announced, saying it is looking for a way to restore contact.
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The helicopter, which looks like a large drone, in 2021 became the first automated vehicle to fly on another planet. He arrived at Mars with the Perseverance rover, which acts as a relay to transfer data between the helicopter and Earth.
NASA explained in a message published on Friday evening that Ingenuity reached a height of 12 meters during its flight on Thursday.
But “during its descent, communications between the helicopter and the rover ended earlier, prior to landing,” NASA wrote.
The US space agency added that the teams responsible for the helicopter are “analyzing the available data and studying the next steps to restore contact with the helicopter.”
She added that the flight was planned “to check the helicopter's systems, after it landed earlier than planned during the previous flight.”
On for visual inspection.
NASA had temporarily lost contact with the helicopter in the past, including for an extended period of about two months last year, but this outage was planned at the time.
The Ingenuity spacecraft, which weighs just 1.8 kg, was originally supposed to take off only five times, but the mission exceeded all expectations.
In total, the helicopter traveled about 17 kilometers, flying at an altitude of 24 metres.
Its longevity is impressive, especially considering that it must survive the frigid Martian nights and keep itself warm thanks to solar panels that charge its batteries during the day.
Thus he became the travel companion of the Perseverance rover, whose mission is to search for traces of ancient life on Mars.
