Although NASA’s Ingenuity Mars
Helicopter has defied expectations, proved that powered, controlled flight of an aircraft was possible on Mars
the approaching Mars
winter brings additional challenges. Each sol (Mars-day) could be Ingenuity’s last.
It is believed to already
suffering from battery brownouts at night, where the low voltage caused the electronics to reset.
It is also likely that
there will be insufficient power for the heater to keep the electronics in their safe temperature range.
The Perseverance and Ingenuity
operations teams have done an extraordinary job in reestablishing reliable communications with Ingenuity
As of Sol 446, the team has
transferred approximately 3,500 megabits (Mb) of data from Ingenuity to the HBS on Perseverance.