Illustration of NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter on Mars. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
The Ingenuity team has found a software solution to the command sequence issue identified on Sol 49 (April 9) during a scheduled rapid spin-up test of the helicopter’s rotors. Over the weekend, the team considered and tested multiple potential solutions to this problem, concluding that a minor change and reinstallation of Ingenuity’s flight control software is the most robust way forward. This software update changes the process by which the two flight controllers start up, allowing the hardware and software to safely switch to flight state. Adjustments to the flight software are independently assessed today and tomorrow and validated in test setups at JPL
NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter is doing a slow rotation test of its blades on April 8, 2021, the 48th Mars Day, or sol, of the mission. This image was taken by the navigation cameras on NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
While the development of the new software change is straightforward, the process of validating and completing the uplink to Ingenuity will take some time. A detailed timeline for rescheduling the quick spin-up test and the maiden flight is still in progress. The process of updating Ingenuity’s flight control software will follow established validation processes with careful and deliberate steps to move the new software through the rover to the base station and then to the helicopter. Intermediate milestones include:
- Diagnose the problem and develop possible solutions
- Develop / validate and upload software
- Load flight software on flight controllers
- Boot Ingenuity on new flight software
Once we’ve passed these milestones we’ll prepare Ingenuity for the maiden flight, which will take several sols, or Mars days. Our best estimate of an intended flight date is currently fluid, but we are working towards meeting these milestones and setting a flight date next week. We are confident in the team’s ability to meet this challenge and prepare for Ingenuity’s historic first controlled powered flight on another planet.
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter is seen here in a close-up shot by Mastcam-Z, a pair of zoomable cameras onboard the Perseverance rover. This photo was taken April 5, the 45th day of Mars, or sol, of the mission. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASU
Ingenuity remains healthy on the surface on Mars. Critical functions such as power supply, communication and thermal control are stable. It’s not unexpected that a technology demonstration like this one encounters challenges that need to be performed in real time. The risky, high-reward approach we took on the first powered, controlled flight on another planet allows us to shift the performance envelope in ways we couldn’t with a mission that would take years, such as Perseverance. Meanwhile, while the Ingenuity team does its job, Perseverance will continue to do science with its range of instruments and gears up for a test of the MOXIE technology demonstration.