NASA” regains contact with “Mars Helicopter”
The United States space agency, NASA, announced that it has regained contact with its helicopter, “Ingenuity,” located on Mars after losing it due to an unexpected glitch.
The agency stated in a statement that it managed to re-establish communication with the helicopter by instructing the rover “Perseverance” to perform “long-duration listening operations to capture the Ingenuity signal.”
It noted that the team responsible for the helicopter is analyzing the new data to gain a clearer understanding of the unexpected interruption in communication during the 72nd flight.
“Ingenuity,” resembling a large drone, became the first powered vehicle to carry out aerial flights above a planet other than Earth in 2021. It was transported to the Red Planet by the rover “Perseverance,” which is responsible for transmitting data from it to Earth. Its mission is to search for signs of ancient life on Mars.
Communication between “Ingenuity” and the rover suddenly went silent last Thursday during the 72nd flight over Mars.
Last year, NASA lost contact with the Mars helicopter for longer periods that exceeded two months.
