NASA's Perseverance rover snapped this image of Ingenuity on the ground on May 23, 2021, the day after its

NASA Mars Ingenuity helicopter survives 'in-flight anomaly' on sixth flight

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2021-05-28 11:30:05

NASA's Perseverance rover snapped this image of Ingenuity on the ground on May 23, 2021, the day after its "stressful" sixth flight.

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter on Mars has been a story of triumph, and now one of perseverance. After five successful flights, Ingenuity encountered an "in-flight anomaly" during its sixth flight attempt. The helicopter landed safely despite the problem.

NASA had planned to send the chopper on a scouting mission to snap aerial images of the landscape and land in a new spot. The first 490 feet (150 meters) of the flight on May 22 went smoothly. "But toward the end of that leg, something happened: Ingenuity began adjusting its velocity and tilting back and forth in an oscillating pattern," NASA said in a statement on Thursday.

Ingenuity is designed to take care of itself while in flight. According to NASA, it uses an inertial measurement unit (IMU) to track position, velocity and attitude (location, speed and orientation). This works in partnership with the rotorcraft's navigation camera, which feeds images into the system.