NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity has been so successful, the space agency on Friday said it would extend the mission so the mini-aircraft can act as a scout for the rover Perseverance.

Engineers decided to let the helicopter operate another 30 days for longer flights to new areas of Jezero Crater, they announced in a press conference Friday. NASA originally planned to retire the helicopter at the end of April.

"We will be celebrating each day the Ingenuity survives and operates beyond the original window," said MiMi Aung, NASA's project manager for the aircraft.

NASA planned the fourth flight of Ingenuity on Friday around 10:39 a.m. EDT, but wouldn't confirm details or receive data until 1:39 p.m. The fourth flight was to be over one-tenth of a mile round-trip, during which time the helicopter was to take images of potential future landing sites.

"It's like Ingenuity is graduating from the test demo phase to a new phase ... where we can show how such a rotorcraft can be used," Aung said.

Engineers tested Ingenuity in laboratory chambers on Earth, where it was usually tethered by a cable and where they tried to simulate the thin Martian atmosphere, Aung noted.

But the 4-pound helicopter appears to be thriving in its intended environment, untethered and free, she said. Her impression is that the rover Perseverance enjoys filming Ingenuity, she said with a laugh.

"Ingenuity loves Mars," Aung said.

Ingenuity became the first powered, controlled aircraft to fly on another planet April 19. But NASA designed it only for a 30-day technology demonstration to see if such flight was possible.

Perseverance was to drive away from Ingenuity, stranding it, because the rover's mission is to drill for rock samples that may show signs of ancient life on Mars.

Ingenuity needs Perseverance to communicate with Earth through the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter that circles the Red Planet.

But the helicopter's flawless performance and healthy power and communications systems prompted the agency to consider the extension.

Two other factors also contributed to making such an extension possible, said Jennifer Trosper, the deputy project manager.

"Originally, we thought that we would be driving away from the location that we landed at, but that's not true," Trosper said. "The science team is actually very interested in getting the initial samples from this region that we're in right now."

Ingenuity's communications link with Perseverance also proved much stronger than expected, meaning the two robotic explorers could be a mile away from each other, NASA officials said.

NASA plans for the helicopter to scout for paths or obstacles the rover may encounter. It also is to take photos of rough terrain over which the rover can't travel, enhancing NASA's knowledge of the Martian surface and possibly guide future missions.

But the helicopter likely won't survive indefinitely, said J. "Bob" Balaram, Ingenuity's chief engineer. Harsh temperature swings in the crater -- from single digits to minus-117 degrees F -- most likely will degrade components over time, Balaram said.

"It's been riding the winds, it's been taking off great, it's been hovering, everything's working very well," Balaram said. "But it wasn't really designed for a long mission. ... So the expectation is that at some point, due to the thermal cycling, a joint or something will snap."

NASA will keep a small staff on the Ingenuity team to plan future flights, and such personnel will add to the mission costs, but any increase will be minimal with the potential for valuable discoveries, said Lori Glaze, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division.

Glaze expects teams of NASA scientists to propose new aerial drones for interplanetary missions in the coming years, based in Ingenuity's success.

But she said the next planned Mars mission, a rover that will collect Perseverance's rock samples and launch them into Martian orbit, already is too complicated and most likely will not include an aircraft.

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Mars Ingenuity helicopter given new scouting mission
Washington (AFP) April 30, 2021
After proving powered, controlled flight is possible on the Red Planet, NASA's Mars Ingenuity helicopter has new orders: scout ahead of the Perseverance rover to assist in its search for past signs of microbial life. The next phase extends the rotocraft's mission beyond the original month-long technology demonstration. Now, the goal is to assess how well flyers can help future exploration of Mars and other worlds. "We're going to gather information on the operational support capability of the he ... read more