Next steps include running further diagnostic checks, commanding Ingenuity to take photos of its location on the surface, and performing a spin test. source: https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/status/509/ingenuity-reestablishes-communications/
Stock image
What had happened?
Edit: https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/status/508/flight-72-status-update/
During its planned descent, communications between the helicopter and rover terminated early, prior to touchdown.
Lost comms while in flight, however the autonomous systems seemed to have landed it just fine. My guess is the rover lost comms for whatever reason, rather than anything between Perseverance and Ingenuity.
The previous flight (71) had an emergency landing. Post flight images suggest that it was a rough landing, with part of the helicopter making contact with the ground and leaving a V-shaped grove in the regolith. That rough landing may have come into play during 72...
That's interesting, will be good to see what they come out with.
Is it far away from the rover now? I'm wondering if they will be able to get a good look at it visually.
The distance between the craft after flight 70 was 924.05 meters, flight 71 was only 71.0 meters (a lot less than planned), but we don't have the coordinates from JPL yet. It was supposed to fly West, so we can estimate the emergency landing was west of the rover, so the distance would be just shy of 1 kilometer. Flight 72 was supposed to be a pop up flight (up and down) to re-establish its coordinates etc. The helicopter and rover are at roughly the same elevation (0.6 meters difference) but there is a large levee between them (no direct line of sight). The rover would likely have to drive ~500 meters (or more) before it could image the helicopter from a safe location, as it would be unlikely to drive into the old river channel the helicopter is in now (too much dangerous sand)
Aww man, I didn't think it was going to end like this! A little chip off the prototype carbon fibre blade has spelled the end :(
It lost 25% of the rotor (engineering quote)
Great News!!! Thanks Paul!!!
I'll be keeping an eye open for those new ground images... Watch this space :)
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