A navigation timing error sent NASA’s Mars helicopter on a lurching ride, its first major problem since it took to the Martian skies last month.
The experimental helicopter, named Ingenuity, managed to land safely after the problem occurred, officials at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory said on Thursday 27 May 2021.
The trouble cropped up about a minute into the helicopter’s sixth test flight on Saturday 22 May 2021 at an altitude of 10 metres (33ft). One of the numerous pictures taken by an onboard navigation camera did not register in the system, confusing the craft about its location.
Ingenuity began tilting back and forth by as much as 20 degrees and suffered power consumption spikes, according to Havard Grip, the helicopter’s chief pilot.
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