The drone is back in contact and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory hopes to return it to normal operations soon.
through at least September, and has now racked up 28 sorties. That's considerably beyond its initial flight plan, of five excursions planned after it landed on the Martian surface in February 2021, along with Perseverance. Ingenuity's rotor revolutions per flight werelast September to account for lessening atmospheric density due to seasonal changes at the mission's landing area, Mars' Jezero Crater.
The FGPA unit is crucial to making sure Ingenuity remains operational, including controlling the power to avionics elements and operating heaters to keep Ingenuity alive during cold Martian nights. It is also responsible for the spacecraft's time-keeping, including for scheduled calls with Perseverance.
To try to catch Ingenuity again, engineers commanded Perseverance to listen for the signal for nearly an entire Martian sol on May 5, and finally heard from the helicopter around 11:45 a.m. local Mars time. Ingenuity was limited in what it could send to preserve its power, but controllers were able to determine that the helicopter's basic health appeared to be good.
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