NASA has successfully reestablished communication with the Mars Ingenuity helicopter after a two-day blackout. The unexpected communication loss occurred during the helicopter’s 72nd flight on January 18, disrupting its connection with the Perseverance rover, which served as the sole conduit for information transmission to Earth. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) announced on January 21 that they had regained contact with the helicopter.
On January 20, JPL had reported their efforts to restore communication, stating, “Good news today: We’ve reestablished contact with the Mars helicopter after instructing @NASAPersevere to perform long-duration listening sessions for Ingenuity’s signal.”
Ingenuity made its landing on Mars in February 2021 and experienced the communication dropout during a planned quick pop-up vertical flight, designed to assess the helicopter’s systems after an unplanned early landing in its previous flight. NASA clarified that the flight had successfully reached its assigned maximum altitude of 40 feet (12 meters) based on data transmitted to the Perseverance rover. However, communication between the helicopter and rover ceased prematurely during the planned descent, before touchdown.
This recent incident echoes a previous communication loss with Ingenuity in 2023, causing concern for two months. Despite the challenges, Ingenuity has achieved its primary goal of conducting five flights over 30 days on Mars. The helicopter has covered approximately 17 kilometers, reaching an altitude of 79 feet, all while weighing merely four pounds. The possibility of future flights remains uncertain, as NASA has not confirmed any plans and emphasized the need to assess the overall condition of the helicopter before making any definitive statements.