After the unparalleled success of the previous 21 (!) flights, Ingenuity will regularly fly into Martian airspace at least until September.

Last April, Mars helicopter Ingenuity completed its first historic flight on the red planet. At the time, the American space agency hoped that Ingenuity would conduct no more than five experimental test flights. We are now almost a year and more than twenty flights further and the Mars helicopter is still functioning. And so the successful mission has been extended again.

September

NASA has announced that it will extend Ingenuity’s mission until September. A tribute to the unparalleled success. “Less than a year ago, we didn’t even know if a powered and controlled helicopter flight on Mars was possible,” said NASA’s Thomas Zurbuchen. “Now we also want to use Ingenuity during Perseverance’s second scientific campaign. Such a big change in such a short period of time is just astonishing.”

New area

The announcement comes on the heels of Ingenuity’s 21st successful run; the first of at least three flights needed to cross the northwestern part of an area called Séítah. In the coming months, the helicopter will then explore a completely different area than the relatively flat terrain it has been flying over since its first flight.

river delta

The plan is for Ingenuity to lend a hand in mapping the ancient river delta of Jezero Crater. This fan-shaped delta, formed by an old river, is several kilometers wide and rises more than 40 meters above the crater floor. The delta features jagged cliffs, sloping surfaces and jagged boulders. These can not only get in the way of Mars rover Perseverance, Ingenuity could also accidentally fly into this. Still, scientists are eager to pay this region a visit. The delta could easily contain countless geological gems. Moreover, researchers even hope to discover traces of (former) microscopic life here. And then we will finally know if life ever existed on Mars, billions of years ago.

assist

The idea is that Ingenuity Perseverance will continue to assist for the foreseeable future. For example, the helicopter can determine from the air which of the two dry river channels the Mars rover can best take to climb the top of the delta as safely as possible. In addition to assisting with routing, Ingenuity can also map more distant geological features in areas where the rover cannot reach.

Updates

But before that happens, the helicopter has to undergo some updates. “Exploring the river delta in the Jezero crater will be the biggest challenge we will face since the first flight on Mars,” said Teddy Tzanetos, team leader of the Ingenuity team. “To increase our chances of success, we have expanded our team and are now making significant software updates.” These updates will lead to fewer navigation errors during flights, which will improve both flight and landing safety. Also, Ingenuity can now climb to greater heights than his previously programmed maximum height of 15 meters.

Flight number 22

Meanwhile, the team is also preparing for flight number 22. During this upcoming flight, Ingenuity will cover 350 meters. It promises to be an exciting ride; For example, Ingenuity has to make a sharp turn to avoid big hills. After that, the team will determine whether Ingenuity needs two or three more flights to leave Séítah and reach the river delta.

This image shows the multiple flights — and the two different routes Ingenuity can take — to reach the river delta in Jezero Crater. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/USGS

“This upcoming flight will be my 22nd entry in the logbook,” said Ingenuity’s chief pilot Håvard Grip. When Ingenuity’s mission started, I had already been happy with five flights. As we continue at this pace, I will need a second book soon.”