NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter recently completed its 65th and 66th flights on Mars, two brief hops that were part of its preparations for an upcoming period during which it will be out of contact with ground control.
On November 2nd, the 4-pound (1.8 kilograms) Ingenuity remained airborne for 48 seconds, traveling 23 feet (7 meters) across the Martian surface. It then flew again on November 3rd, this time staying aloft for 23 seconds while covering just 2 feet (0.6 m) horizontally.
Despite the brevity of the flights, NASA confirmed that both were successful and part of a strategic plan for the #MarsHelicopter.
“These two short flights positioned the #MarsHelicopter for the upcoming Mars solar conjunction, when mission teams will pause on sending commands for about 2 weeks,” said officials with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
During Mars solar conjunction, Earth and Mars are on opposite sides of the sun, causing a disruption in communication between the two planets. Therefore, engineers must temporarily suspend sending commands to their robots on Mars.
This year’s Mars solar conjunction is expected to last from November 11 to November 25, a period during which Mars will be within 2 degrees of the sun from Earth’s perspective.
Ingenuity, which arrived on Mars alongside NASA’s Perseverance rover in February 2021, has successfully demonstrated powered flight on the Red Planet over the course of 66 flights. Its primary mission was to prove that sustained, powered flight is possible in Mars’ thin atmosphere.
Following this accomplishment, Ingenuity has been granted an extended mission to serve as a scout for Perseverance. To date, Ingenuity has flown a total of 9 miles (14.5 kilometers) and stayed airborne for nearly 119 minutes.
