When Perseverance attempted communications with Ingenuity on the early morning of sols 427 and 428, Ingenuity did not respond due to the fact that it was awakening at the wrong time. The team responded by uplinking a full-sol search activity with the Helicopter Base Station (HBS) onboard Perseverance to try to communicate with Ingenuity throughout among its misaligned alarm widows, which prospered.
Considering that Sol 429 and every sol because (with the exception of Sols 444 and 445, which did not consist of helicopter activities), we have been in day-to-day contact with Ingenuity by utilizing comparable early morning search activities during what we think to be the most likely times when Ingenuity would be sufficiently charged to attempt booting its electronics. These morning search activities reprogram the helicopters mission clock each sol, which, for the duration of that sol, makes it possible for additional set up activities to make usage of the energy that we do have offered.
All telemetry downlinked up until now recommends that Ingenuity is healthy, with no signs of damage from the overnight cold cycles. This morning-search followed by night activities is our brand-new regular for the instant future.
Winter Season Risk Posture.
Our latest models recommend that no matter adjustments to our overnight thermostat technique, it will be extremely challenging or perhaps difficult to keep our electronics core module (ECM) components warm and within their small temperature levels over night. Part failure has constantly been a danger that we have carried considering that rover implementation, that run the risk of is now magnified. ECM parts were normally kept warm over night by our battery heater (usually set to 5 °, minus 4 °, or minus 13 ° F, or minus 15 °, minus 20 °, or minus 25 ° C). We anticipate that ECM components are now thermal-cycling down to the ambient overnight temperatures of minus 112 ° F (minus 80 ° C). We do have limited ECM element testing to recommend that select parts may endure through the winter, however we can not predict how the whole ECM will fare throughout winter. Cold-soaking electronic devices is thought to have triggered completion of the Opportunity and Spirit Mars rover missions.
Winter Season Operations and Beyond.
Provided our raised danger posture, our focus in the last numerous sols has been to focus on data downlink from Ingenuity to the HBS. We have a handful of Heli-to-HBS transfer activities left before all unique data are copied from Ingenuity to the HBS. Specifically, we are copying flight performance logs, electronic devices logs, and high-resolution color images from the last eight flights that are still onboard Ingenuity.
After all important logs are moved, the team will continue with a recommissioning stage during which we will reestablish Ingenuitys flight readiness provided our continuous over night cold-cycling. Like throughout the innovation presentation phase, we will perform a high-speed spin before continuing to flight. Must Ingenuity get a clean expense of health, we would be ready to execute a brief sortie to the southwest in Flight 29. This flight will enhance our radio link for approximately the next four to six months while Perseverance samples at the river delta.
In the meantime, the Ingenuity flight software group will be preparing a series of upgrades to enable sophisticated navigation features. These new abilities will help Ingenuity ascend the river delta and continue its missions as a forward scout for Perseverance past winter.
Next Steps.
The Perseverance and Ingenuity operations groups have done an extraordinary job in restoring reliable interactions with Ingenuity. As of Sol 446, the group has actually transferred approximately 3,500 megabits (Mb) of information from Ingenuity to the HBS on Perseverance. There is around 400 Mb of information remaining on Ingenuity of noncritical logs and images that will be moved opportunistically, while the group forges ahead with recommissioning efforts this week. If the telecom link between Perseverance and Ingenuity stays stable, and Ingenuity gets a clean bill of health, we want to carry out Flight 29 in the next numerous sols.
Composed by Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity Team Lead at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Cold Cycling Components: Our heating system thermostat can no longer keep the battery (and surrounding electronic devices) at their programmed setpoint (e.g. minus 13 ° F/ minus 25 ° C). As a result, we expect that Ingenuitys electronics are reaching overnight ambient temperature levels of around minus 80 ° C (minus 112 ° F). Impact 1: This cold biking each night presents a lifetime danger to our electronic components.and.
Cleared Mission Clock: The battery can no longer support our voltage regulators and objective clock. This nighttime brownout resets (or clears) our mission clock.Impact 2: Each early morning when Ingenuity warms up, charges its drained battery, and attempts to switch on its computer, it is booting according to a misaligned alarm schedule, which runs out synchronization with Perseverance.
Telemetry from Ingenuity verified that the loss of interactions was due to insufficient battery state-of-charge (SOC) going into the night, which led to a reset of our mission clock. This daily SOC deficit is likely to continue throughout of Martian winter (till September/October).
NASAs Ingenuity Mars helicopter is seen here in a close-up taken by Mastcam-Z, a set of zoomable cams aboard the Perseverance rover. This image was handled April 5, the 45th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU.
Difficulties like these are to be expected: After numerous sols and dozens of flights beyond the five flights initially planned, the solar-powered helicopter is in uncharted terrain. We are now operating far outside our initial design limitations. Historically, Mars is very tough for spacecraft (especially solar-powered spacecraft). Each sol could be Ingenuitys last.
Below is a summary of our anomaly investigation over the last 2 weeks, our elevated winter season risk posture, and the possible courses ahead for Ingenuity during winter season and beyond.
Sol 427 and 428 Loss of Communications.
We have actually reached the point in Martian late fall/early winter season at which Ingenuity can no longer support the energy needs of nominal operations. Starting on the night of Sol 426, our company believe Ingenuity started experiencing overnight battery brownouts (drops in the batterys voltage), which reset the electronics. Due to the seasonal decrease in readily available solar power, increases in airborne dust density, and the drop in temperature levels, the energy need to keep the electronics powered and warm throughout the night has actually surpassed Ingenuitys offered energy spending plan.
Below is a plot of the environmental conditions at Jezero Crater. The black line is a climatological model of airborne dust density (called “tau”) over a Martian year, and the expected daily insolation (amount of Suns rays reaching the solar panel) is illustrated in the green dotted line. We are now in the part of the Martian year with peak tau, integrated with falling insolation. Disappointed in this plot is the additional pattern of lower average day-to-day temperature levels, which likewise adds to Ingenuitys energy demand. We anticipate to be in this difficult winter season energy paradigm till around Sol 600, at which point we expect to go back to being power-positive from sol to sol.
Ecological Plot at Jezero: This graphic depicts the ecological conditions at Jezero Crater from the day NASAs Perseverance Mars rover landed through Sol 600. The black line reveals a climatological model of air-borne dust loading, while the green dotted line reveals daily insolation. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
While in winter, each night we anticipate our battery SOC will fall low enough to where:.
As detailed in a current post, for the very first time in our yearlong prolonged objective we had a loss of communications with Ingenuity from the downlink of May 3 (Sol 427) and May 4 (Sol 428). After a week of anomaly investigation, 2 sols dedicated to information collection, and the brave efforts of the Perseverance and Ingenuity operations teams, I am extremely pleased to report that we have actually reestablished reputable communications with Ingenuity. Given that Sol 429 and every sol because (with the exception of Sols 444 and 445, which did not include helicopter activities), we have been in everyday contact with Ingenuity by utilizing comparable morning search activities during what we think to be the most likely times when Ingenuity would be sufficiently charged to attempt booting its electronic devices. The Perseverance and Ingenuity operations groups have actually done an amazing job in reestablishing reliable communications with Ingenuity. If the telecom link in between Perseverance and Ingenuity stays stable, and Ingenuity receives a clean bill of health, we hope to perform Flight 29 in the next a number of sols.
This image is an illustration of NASAs Ingenuity Helicopter flying on Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Although NASAs Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has actually defied expectations, showed that powered, controlled flight of an airplane was possible on Mars, and has been an amazing success all around, the approaching Mars winter season brings extra difficulties. Each sol (Mars-day) might be Ingenuitys last.
With less daytime reaching the Ingenuity Mars Helicopters solar variety during the winter on Mars, it will likely lack keeping its batteries charged. It is believed to already struggling with battery brownouts in the evening, where the low voltage triggered the electronic devices to reset. It is likewise likely that there will be inadequate power for the heater to keep the electronic devices in their safe temperature level range. This cold cycling each night might trigger the electronic devices to stop working.
As detailed in a current short article, for the first time in our yearlong extended objective we had a loss of interactions with Ingenuity from the downlink of May 3 (Sol 427) and May 4 (Sol 428). After a week of anomaly investigation, 2 sols devoted to data collection, and the heroic efforts of the Perseverance and Ingenuity operations groups, I am extremely delighted to report that we have restored dependable interactions with Ingenuity. Based on all offered telemetry, the helicopter appears healthy, and we have actually resumed a modified form of operations. Presuming winter recommissioning activities complete nominally, Ingenuitys 29th flight may happen in the next couple of sols.