Would Ingenuity live its last days? The helicopter that arrived on Mars 2 years ago seems to have some communication problems with the Perseverance rover. But be careful not to bury it too quickly: the NASA mission has not said its last word.
It is May 26, 2023, and space specialists are starting to worry. A post by Ingenuity chief engineer Travis Brown is posted on NASA’s Mars website. We learn that Ingenuity, the small helicopter which was to plan its 50th flight, is starting to have trouble communicating with the Perseverance rover, its companion on Mars for 2 years now.
On several occasions, the rover tried to contact him, but without success, even forcing Ingenuity to go into survival mode to save its batteries. Since then, things have more or less returned to normal and the helicopter is on its 52nd flight, which does not prevent fears surrounding its future operation.
” There have been many rumors and exaggerations, even internallyNacer Chahat, NASA engineer in charge of Ingenuity’s communication system, tells Numerama. But, to sum up, Ingenuity is doing well from what we know. »
Ingenuity in the white zone on Mars
This assertion, Nacer Chahat built it on two years of experience to follow the movements of the helicopter and its communication capacities. First of all, you should know that the exchange of information between the helicopter and the rover is based on two elements: the topography, and the orientation of the rover. If Ingenuity finds himself in steep places, with rock formations around him, he will find it more difficult to communicate. Even worse if Perseverance isn’t aimed at him. But, how much does that complicate things? Hard to say.
” At the start of the mission, we had theoretical models on the ability to exchange information between the two devicesexplains Nacer Chahat. But, we quickly realized that in reality, these exchanges worked better than expected. In other words, the engineers tried to make the helicopter and the rover communicate in configurations where they were not supposed to achieve this… But, they succeeded anyway!
In the months that followed, NASA got used to performing better than expected, and took Ingenuity well beyond its supposed strengths. While the main mission was planned for half a dozen flights, we are now at 52, at heights and distances well above the first estimates.
At the same time, Nacer Chahat and others continued to work on the theoretical models to know more precisely the communication capacities of the helicopter and arrived at conclusions undoubtedly closer to reality.
“Everyone was used to communicating without worry” with the NASA helicopter
Which brings us to the 50th flight. Perseverance has approached the Belva crater where the terrain is much more hostile, and it finds itself separated from Ingenuity by rock formations. And, at the moment of wanting to communicate, nothing happens. ” It’s normal at this stageassures Nacer Chahat. This corresponds to our forecasts, but everyone had become so used to communicating without worry, that there were concerns. »
Since then, the 50th flight has been able to take place normally, including the following two, but each time, with difficulties related to the usual parameters: the orientation of the rover and the terrain. It is therefore sometimes necessary to wait longer between two flights, which is not necessarily dangerous for Ingenuity according to Nacer Chahat.
“ It can remain immobile for several weeks without any risk. Even the dust that had been a big concern for other missions like InSight is less of an issue for us, as the blades sweep it up a bit each time. »
Moreover, the movements of Ingenuity depend above all on Perseverance which is in charge of the main scientific mission, and which moves according to its own imperatives. It will therefore be necessary to wait a while longer before his journey brings him closer to his flying companion.
” We know Ingenuity has been through a lot, and we’re watching for any issues now.recognizes Nacer Chahat. But, at this point, he shows no real signs of fatigue, nothing to tell us that the mission is coming to an end. »
Yet even if Ingenuity shut down tomorrow, the experiment would still be considered a complete success: the helicopter proved it was possible to fly on Mars and accomplished far more than it was supposed to the base. ” In addition, this journey has helped us to develop new, more precise tools.concludes Nacer Chahat. Now we know how to avoid finding ourselves in positions where we totally lose communication, and that’s a big step forward. »
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