NASA's Ingenuity helicopter recorded another milestone.
The 1.8 kilograms Ingenuity helicopter conquered the Martian skies once again on Saturday, August 20, after being in hiatus for two months. NASA announce on Monday that the Ingenuity just successfully recorded its 30th flight.
"After a two-month hiatus, the rotorcraft did a short hop over the weekend so the team can check its vitals and knock some dust off the solar panel," NASA JPL tweeted, as cited by CNET.
The NASA Mars Ingenuity helicopter made a successful, challenging expedition to a sandy terrain on the eastern side of the Red Planet.
Ingenuity Conquered the Martian Skies After Two Months Hiatus
Ingenuity is considered as a remarkable invention, for it already outlived its expected lifespan. It has also weathered technical challenges in the Red Planet.
The freezing temperature plus the dusty conditions in Mars have made it difficult to charge its solar-powered batteries. This is one of the reasons why NASA decided to set it in hiatus for two months.
Since June 11, Ingenuity had been grounded due to the winter season it its location, the 28-mile-wide (45 kilometers) Jezero Crater, as per Space.com.
According to the mission team, because of winter, the solar-powered Ingenuity isn't getting enough sunlight to keep its batteries charged.
The winter is made worse because of the buildup of dust on Ingenuity's solar panel, making long and ambitious flights impossible.
However, at the moment, short hops for Ingenuity are still possible. Therefore, the mission team decided to take the helicopter out for a brief flight on Saturday just to test if it is still working after experiencing winter nights in Mars.
Ingenuity's flight was designed to last just 33 seconds. The mission team planned to cover just 6.5 feet (2 meters) of horizontal distance. Fortunately, Ingenuity was able to complete the 30th flight mission.
Read Also: NASA Temporarily Grounds the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter - But Why?
Ingenuity Will Continue its Flight Path Towards the River Delta
On February 2021, Ingenuity landed with NASA's Perseverance rover on Jezero Crater. The crater used to have a lake and a river delta billions of years ago.
Perseverance is sent to Mars to search for signs of ancient Mars life. The mission also aims to collect dozens of Martian samples that it will bring to Earth upon its return in the future.
Ingenuity was designed to illustrate that helicopters can explore Mars. It was originally tasked with a five-flight campaign.
More than a year ago, the helicopter completed the technology-demonstration. Now, it is serving as a scout for Perseverance.
As part of the mission, Perseverance has made it to the ancient river delta. According to Space.com, once the weather improves, Ingenuity should join the rover in the delta soon.
According Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity team lead at JPL, the Ingenuity will continue its flight towards the river delta in the coming weeks as the environment continues to improve.
"With higher battery states of charge will come longer flights, and eventually Ingenuity will be able to power its internal heaters overnight, which will stop its electronics from freezing in the Martian cold each evening," Tzanetos added.
The mission team is also planning a flight-software upgrade this September. This will enable "new navigation capabilities" in order for the helicopter to fly better across the "challenging river delta terrain."
Related Article: NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Successfully Completes 20th Flight
