NASA Regains Contact with Mars Helicopter Ingenuity
Communication was lost during the helicopter's 72nd flight, but was reestablished after two days; cause of the dropout is under investigation.
- NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter lost communication with the Perseverance rover during its 72nd flight, but contact was reestablished two days later.
- The communication loss occurred during Ingenuity's descent after it reached its predetermined altitude of 40 feet.
- The Perseverance rover was able to reestablish contact with Ingenuity after performing long-duration listening sessions for the helicopter's signal.
- NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is currently reviewing the data from the flight to understand the cause of the unexpected communication dropout.
- This is not the first time Ingenuity has experienced communication issues, but it has always managed to return to flight.