NASA Re-Establishes Contact With Mars Ingenuity Helicopter After 63 Days

NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter has finally made contact after 63 days, re-establishing communication with mission controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California.

The trip took place on April 26 but mission controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California lost contact with the helicopter as it slid towards the surface of Mars for a landing.

Ingenuity was supposed to do five test flights to demonstrate its capabilities. It did, however, exceed all expectations by completing a record-breaking 51 flights on Mars.

Unfortunately, during its 52nd flight, mission controllers lost touch as it descended toward the surface.

The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is a small robotic aircraft. It was sent to Mars to perform experimental flight tests to determine if powered, controlled flight at the red planet was possible.