How NASA keeps Ingenuity going after more than 50 flights

Extra info is all the time higher in terms of publicly funded space exploration tasks. So it is welcome when a NASA engineer takes day out of the assuredly busy work lives to supply an replace on everybody’s favourite helicopter on Mars. Ingenuity has been having a tough few months, and a brand new article entitled “The Long Wait,” posted by Travis Brown, Chief Engineer on the Ingenuity undertaking, on NASA’s web site, offers an excellent quantity of element as to why.

The issues began when Ingenuity took off for flight #52 on April twenty sixth. When the helicopter landed, it was out of vary Perseverance, its rover companion, and the helicopter’s radio hyperlink again to its controllers on Earth. This was intentional, however it meant that Ingenuity’s minders did not know whether or not the flight had been accomplished efficiently.

Dr. Brown explains why the workforce would deliberately select to land the helicopter out of vary of Perseverance and particulars the 4 essential mission priorities for the helicopter’s secondary mission. Unsurprisingly, the primary precedence is: do not mess up Perseverance. The rover is at the moment amassing attention-grabbing samples for the now-endangered Mars Pattern Return mission, which, assuming it nonetheless goes forward, will see these samples ultimately return to Earth.

If Ingenuity by accident interferes with that course of, for sure, the NASA brass could be upset. The helicopter’s handlers have determined that the easiest way for it’s to remain effectively forward of the rover and let it catch as much as them, which is what it was making an attempt to do with Flight #52.

Sadly, a part of Perseverance’s mission is flexibility, and its personal undertaking workforce could make the decision as to the place they need the rover to go subsequent. After Ingenuity’s flight, the rover workforce determined to not persist with the deliberate path that may take it close to the helicopter in a number of days however as an alternative take a good distance round to do some thrilling science elsewhere. When Perseverance did transfer again into vary, 61 days had handed the place the helicopter had been patiently ready for it.

When Ingenuity may lastly transmit its pictures again, the science workforce was excited because it had landed on a bunch of pebbles that had by no means earlier than been seen on the Martian floor. One other flight was deliberate instantly, with this one meant to scout the instant space for some other attention-grabbing geological options for Perseverance to take a look at.

That is the place the second downside got here up. Throughout Ingenuity’s flight #53, a never-before-seen error compelled the helicopter to land unexpectedly, what Dr. Brown describes as a time desynchronization between a digicam that retains monitor of floor options and different sensors tied to its inertial steerage system. Any engineer who has labored with a number of programs can inform you how troublesome timing synchronization timing could be, so the steerage system was proper to close the system down for machine security. Nonetheless, it signifies that Ingenuity was as soon as once more grounded with out with the ability to fulfill a probably attention-grabbing mission goal.

Whereas Ingenuity was recovering from its sudden touchdown, Perseverance caught as much as the helicopter, making it redundant to supply scientific data for the reason that superior devices on the rover had been now on station. Fortunately, that freed the helicopter up for a quick flight #54, the place it examined its programs out once more after which returned to its scouting duties with flight #55 shortly afterward, with no attendant synchronization issues.

Keep in mind that the unique mission plan for Ingenuity lasted for 30 days and three flights. It’s now on day 979 and has accomplished 66 flights in total. That’s astounding for such a tiny machine on such a distant planet, and congratulations to Dr. Brown and his workforce. Could they have the ability to overcome many extra obstacles and full many extra flights.