This story is part of Welcome to Mars, our series that explores the red planet.
The historic Ingenuity helicopter, currently parked in Jezero Crater on Mars, will have more vacation time this year than many Americans.
NASA said Wednesday it will postpone flights to the solar-powered aircraft for several weeks. “It’s dusty season and winter on Mars, which means there’s more dust in the air and less sunlight to help recharge Ingenenuity’s batteries,” the helicopter team said in an update of state.
The highly successful helicopter, which proved that motorized and controlled flight is possible on another planet, is not expected to return to the air until early August after dust levels drop. Free time will give the steering wheel the opportunity to accumulate the charge of its batteries. This is not too different from why humans take vacations.
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Ingenuity traveled to Mars as a high-risk, high-reward technology demonstration. It exceeded all expectations and has now recorded a whopping 29 flights since its first take-off in April 2021. The most recent took place on June 11, when it changed position to stay in better contact with his companion, the rover Perseverance. The recently announced flight break will extend its already long downtime.
The last few weeks have been presented to the helicopter with many challenges as the dust rose and very cold temperatures set in. The team had to resolve issues related to a dead sensor before its last flight.
NASA is in unexplored territory with the surprisingly long-lived helicopter. It won’t be easy to survive the tough conditions, but he has a good shot. As the NASA JPL noted in a tweet: Don’t worry, the team expects it to fly again.