NASA: Contact lost with the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars

The US space agency NASA lost contact with the small Ingenuity helicopter on Mars during its 72nd flyby around the red planet, indicating that it is looking for a way to restore contact with it, the US space agency said.

The helicopter, which looks like a large drone, in 2021 became the first powered flying device to make a trip to another planet. It arrives at Mars with the Perseverance rover, which acts as a “broker”, collecting Ingenuity's data and returning it to Earth.

NASA explained that Ingenuity reached an altitude of 12 meters on Thursday's flight. But during the landing process, communication between the helicopter and the rover was lost prematurely, before landing. The US agency added that the teams responsible for the helicopter are “analyzing the available data and studying the next steps to restore communication.”

This flight was made in order to check the helicopter's systems, because in the previous flight it landed earlier than planned.

In a post on NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which built the helicopter, it said the Perseverance rover cannot currently “see” Ingenuity but is considering approaching the area for a “visual inspection.”

NASA has also lost contact with the helicopter in the past, such as last year, when it was lost for two months. However, a communications disruption was expected.

The Ingenuity spacecraft, which weighs just 1.8 kilograms, was originally supposed to make only five flights, but the mission exceeded all expectations. In total, he ran 17 kilometers and reached a height of 24 metres. Its longevity is impressive, given that it must “survive” the cold of the Martian night and is only heated by solar panels that charge its batteries during the day. It thus evolved into the permanent “companion” of the Perseverance rover, whose mission is to search for traces of ancient life on Mars.