Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Space
  3. News

Mars helicopter’s rotors fail to spin for ambitious fourth flight

Trevor Mogg
By

Ingenuity stayed stuck on the Martian surface on Thursday when it was supposed to be flying high.

A software issue prevented NASA’s helicopter from lifting off for what would have been the aircraft’s fourth and most ambitious flight to date.

Recommended Videos

Engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which is overseeing Ingenuity’s Mars mission, described the helicopter as “safe and healthy,” adding that it will try again on Friday, April 30.

Ingenuity made history on April 19 when it became the first aircraft to perform powered, controlled flight on another planet. Since then, the 4-pound, 19-inch-high drone-like vehicle has taken two other flights of increasing complexity.

Software issue

Thursday’s flight effort failed due to a software issue that first emerged during a test of Ingenuity’s rotors prior to its maiden flight, when the aircraft was unable to transition from “pre-flight” to “flight” mode. JPL engineers beamed an update to Ingenuity’s software in a matter of days but said the fix would have a 15% failure rate that would prevent the aircraft from entering flight mode.

The team said it will attempt the fourth flight again at 10:46 a.m. ET (7:46 a.m. PT) on Friday, with the first data from Ingenuity expected to arrive at JPL’s base in California at 1:39 p.m. ET (10:39 a.m. PT).

Space fans are eager to learn if Ingenuity can ace its fourth and most complex flight to date in Mars’ superthin atmosphere.

While the helicopter’s first airborne effort involved only a hover, its second and third outings saw it zip across the Martian surface. The next flight, however, will see Ingenuity fly faster and further than ever before. JPL said it plans for the helicopter to climb to an altitude of 5 meters before embarking on a flight lasting 117 seconds, 37 seconds longer than its previous effort.

The autonomous aircraft will also increase its airspeed from 2 meters per second on its last flight to 3.5 meters per second (4.5 mph to 8 mph) while zipping 133 meters across the Martian surface, flying 83 meters further than it did during its third flight. During part of its trip, Ingenuity will use also its downward-facing camera to snap pictures of the terrain below.

Future Mars helicopters are certain to be deployed for gathering imagery of rocky terrain that’s too challenging for a wheel-equipped rover to tackle, so the team at JPL are eager to put Ingenuity through its paces in an effort to get as much useful data as possible.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Trevor Mogg
Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Ingenuity helicopter helps researchers learn about dust on Mars
The Ingenuity helicopter is pictured on the surface of Mars.

One of the big challenges of Mars exploration is something very small: dust. Fine dust covers much of the martian surface, and high winds and low gravity mean the dust is easily whipped up off the surface, covering solar panels and gumming up components. The Ingenuity helicopter has had its own problems with dust on its solar panels, limiting the amount of power it could draw from the sun.

Now, researchers have used data from Ingenuity to understand more about how dust moves in the martian air, learning about the dynamics of dust, which could help future missions deal with this ongoing problem.

Read more
Mars helicopter Ingenuity marks 40 flights and is still going strong
Ingenuity sits on a slightly inclined surface with about 6-degree tilt at the center of the frame, just north of the southern ridge of “Séíitah” geologic unit. The Perseverance rover’s Mastcam-Z instrument took this image on Dec. 1, 2021, when the rotorcraft was about 970 feet (295 meters) away.

The Mars helicopter Ingenuity has made its third flight of the year, which also marks its 40th flight since it landed in the Jezero crater along with the Perseverance rover in February 2021. Despite being originally intended for just five flights and having to weather the Martian winter, the little helicopter is still going strong as it comes up to its second anniversary on the red planet.

On the helicopter's 40th flight, it traveled from an area named Airfield Z to Airfield Beta, on its way to join the Perseverance rover as it explores the Jezero river delta. It will help scout ahead for the rover, identifying safe routes for the rover to drive as it searches for evidence of ancient life that could have existed when water was present on the planet's surface billions of years ago.

Read more
Mars helicopter keeps on flying as it approaches second anniversary
NASA's Ingenuity helicopter.

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter has been on Mars for almost two years and the high-tech contraption is still in good enough shape to get airborne.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the NASA unit overseeing the latest Mars mission that also includes the Perseverance rover, tweeted a GIF (below) showing the view from Ingenuity as it buzzed above the martian surface on Wednesday, January 11.

Read more