NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity has performed its shortest-ever flight, the first after a major software update that will allow the little chopper to land more safely.
Ingenuity's 34th flight, which took place on Tuesday, lasted only 18 seconds and saw the helicopter briefly hover above Mars before landing just 16 feet away from its starting point. The first try-out of a new software system that was beamed to Ingenuity from Earth improved its ability to operate in the rugged terrain that its parent Perseverance rover is currently exploring.
Ingenuity was built to navigate in smooth terrain, such as Wright Brothers Field, where it was first deployed. The ground control teams were starting to dare to send the flying robot into more complicated landscapes because of the helicopter's success.
A helicopter flies over the Mars rover tracks.
The Ingenuity team had to look for level airfields that were free of rocks that could damage the helicopter. It has been difficult to find safe airfields because Jezero Crater is rocky. Ingenuity's downward-facing camera will be used to detect risky objects before landing and steer the helicopter to avoid them.
Ingenuity will identify the safest visible landing site while in flight. Ingenuity will divert over to this site when it's ready to land.
Ingenuity will be more confident in flight, thanks to the software. The helicopter's cameras used to get confused by seeing a hilly landscape, since it was designed to fly overflat fields. The old software would think the helicopter was going in the wrong direction, which would cause it to stray in flight.
The Ingenuity team said that navigation errors caused by rough terrain need to be accounted for. The software update uses digital elevation maps of Jezero Crater to help the navigation software distinguish between changes in terrain and vehicle movement.
The new software will allow Ingenuity to look at a wider range of terrain types.
The team is excited to see where this update will allow them to go.
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