Ingenuity last made contact on Thursday, January 18, when its last aerial mission ended. The helicopter had reached its intended maximum altitude of 12 meters and was descending back to the Martian surface when communications suddenly failed.
Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California are currently analyzing available data to determine the cause of the radio silence and develop a plan to restore communications. They are also considering sending the Perseverance rover, which has been Ingenuity’s faithful companion since they landed together in February 2021, to conduct a visual inspection of the helicopter.
Ingenuity traveled a total of 17.7 km in 72 successful flights. The mission extension, ordered after the helicopter had gone beyond its initial five flights to demonstrate the technology, allowed it to conduct reconnaissance for Perseverance, a car-sized rover that searches for evidence of past Martian life and collects samples for future return to Earth.
Source: Ferra
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