2024-01-23 22:05:28
Washington – Agencies
The US space agency NASA has restored contact with its small helicopter, Ingenuity, located on Mars, as it announced the day before yesterday, after losing it for some time, as a result of an unexpected malfunction.
This helicopter, which resembles a large drone, became in 2021 the first motorized vehicle to carry out air sorties over a planet other than Earth.
It was carried to the Red Planet that day by the mobile robot “Perseverance”, which transmits data from it to Earth, and its mission is to search for indications of ancient life on Mars.
However, communications between Ingenuity and the rover were suddenly cut off last Thursday, during the helicopter’s seventy-second flight over Mars.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is responsible for the helicopter, announced on the X network that there is good news today.
The agency indicated that it was finally possible to restore contact with the helicopter, by issuing a command to “Perseverance” to pick up the “Ingenuity” signal.
She added that the team responsible for the helicopter “is working to study the new data to obtain a clearer explanation for the reason for the unexpected loss of communication during the seventy-second sortie.”
“NASA” reported in the publication that it mentioned that “Ingenuity” reached a height of 12 meters, but “during its descent, communications between the helicopter and the rover stopped earlier, before it landed.”
Last year, the US Space Agency lost contact with the Martian helicopter for longer periods, exceeding two months.
The helicopter, which weighs 1.8 kilograms, was originally supposed to be limited to five flights – only five – but its mission exceeded all expectations.
Written by Al Bilad newspaper
The first Saudi newspaper was founded by: Muhammad Saleh Nassif on 11/27/1350 AH, corresponding to April 3, 1932 AD. It was reissued under the name (Al-Bilad Al-Saudi) on 1/4/1365 AH 3/4/1946 AD.
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