NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter unlocked its rotor blades, allowing them to spin freely, on April 7, 2021, the 47th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU.
Washington D.C.: NASA has rescheduled the first experimental flight of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter and the flight will happen no earlier than April 14. It was to happen on Sunday.
The decision was taken based on data from the helicopter that NASA said arrived late Friday night.
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During a high-speed spin test of the rotors on Friday, the command sequence controlling the test ended early due to a “watchdog” timer expiration. This occurred as it was trying to transition the flight computer from ‘Pre-Flight’ to ‘Flight’ mode. NASA said the helicopter is safe and healthy and communicated its full telemetry set to Earth.
The watchdog timer oversees the command sequence and alerts the system to any potential issues. It helps the system stay safe by not proceeding if an issue is observed and worked as planned.
“The helicopter team is reviewing telemetry to diagnose and understand the issue. Following that, they will reschedule the full-speed test,” it stated.
– global bihari bureau
