Martian Dust is Starting to Darken Ingenuity’s Solar Panels

Every solar-panel-powered vehicle on Mars has an issue with electrical power at some point. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory lost contact with the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. Engineers know that keeping Ingenuity's batteries charged is going to be difficult as the dark winter is on the way to Jezero Crater.

The engineering team had to do some trouble-shooting to figure out the issue, but they reported that the solar-powered helicopter entering was to blame for the communications dropout on May 3.

The amount of dust on the solar panels reduces the amount of sunlight hitting the solar array, which reduces Ingenuity's ability to replenish its batteries. The helicopter's field-programmable gate array (FPGA) was powered down when the battery pack's state of charge dropped below a lower limit.

Dust on Mars is different from dust on Earth, even though Ingenuity flies through the air. Martian dust clings to the solar panel because it is charged. Engineers have said that it would be difficult for a solar powered vehicle on Mars to have a whisk broom on its robotic arm. The solar panels could get scratched, damaging the panels and making the power problem worse, if the dust is not wiped off.

The Ingenuity team has always known that the Martian winter and dust storm season would present new challenges, specifically colder sols, an increase in atmospheric dust, and more frequent dust storms.

The little helicopter that has flown her way into our hearts became the first powered aircraft to operate on another world. The original plan was to make five test flights over 30 days. Ingenuity has flown 28 times.

The batteries didn't charge enough and the FPGA lost power during the cold night. Ingenuity's operational state is managed by the FPGA, which switches the other elements on and off to maximize power savings. It operates the heaters that allow the helicopter to survive frigid Martian nights, maintains precise spacecraft time, and controls when the helicopter is scheduled to wake up for communications with Perseverance.

Ingenuity's heaters are used to keep electronics and other components within operational temperatures. The internal clock reset when the FPGA turned off. The helicopter's clock was not in sync with the rover's clock when the sun rose. The base station wasn't listening when Ingenuity thought it was time to contact Perseverance.

Ingenuity was initially viewed as an add-on demonstration mission, but has grown into a scout for Perseverance, checking out the path ahead.

When the team lost contact with the helicopter, the decision was made to stop all of Perseverance's ongoing science activities for a full day. Scott Maxwell, a former rover driver, said that it was endearing and emotional.

The helicopter and rover teams have a plan to keep Ingenuity warm.

The helicopter's battery needs to accumulate enough charge during the next few sols so that it can support the necessary systems during the cold Martian night. When the helicopter's battery falls below 5 degrees Fahrenheit, Ingenuity lowers the point at which the helicopter's heaters are powered up. The team hopes that this strategy will allow the battery to keep its charge. The engineers of Ingenuity hope that after several days of the helicopter's array soaking in the limited sunlight, the battery will have reached a point where it can return to normal operations.

There are unknowns if this will work. Ingenuity has parts that weren't designed for the cold of Martian winter.

Tzanetos said that the top priority was to maintain communications with Ingenuity in the next few sols. We are hopeful that we can accumulate battery charge in order to return to nominal operations and continue our mission into the weeks ahead.