Winter is coming: Mars cold season disabled one of the Ingenuity’s navigation sensors

(NASA)
Ingenuity, the first Martian helicopter, has lost its inclinometer due to a strong decrease in the winter night temperature.

Now the marscopter will use an inertial measurement module to evaluate the roll and pitch before takeoff. This instrument will take on the functions of the inclinometer.

If you have been reading my previous entries, you know at this point what Ingenuity is: the first drone to make a controlled flight in the atmosphere of another planet.

The marscopter has been working on Mars for a year and a half, having completed 28 flights and flying a total of almost 7 kilometers.

Ingenuity has already successfully survived technical failures, but the onset of the Martian winter increasingly complicates its work.

The marscopter, which was designed for a short flight program during the Martian summer, has to face a drop in ambient temperature and dusty atmosphere.

The team in charge of the drone developed a new winter program for Ingenuity after a battery failure in mid-May caused it to lose contact with Earth

The new program makes Ingenuity turn off at night, and warm up in the morning, charge the battery and restart its computer.

However, these actions increase the risk of failure of the electronic components of the resilient marscopter.

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THE FAILURE
Now, on June 6, the NASA team reported that the Ingenuity's inclinometer failed due to the low temperatures.

The inclinometer is used for pre-flight orientation control and is included in the navigation system.

As a result, the engineers had to develop a new work plan with the navigation system before the marscopter takes off in future flights.

Now the functions of the inclinometer will be performed by the inertial measurement unit (IMU).

In the following weeks, the team will transfer the software update for the navigation system to the Martian helicopter.

Once all that is solved, just then the Ingenuity engineers will start the preparations for the 29th flight.

Sources:

• NASA: https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/status/385/keeping-our-sense-of-direction-dealing-with-a-dead-sensor/
• Arstechnica: https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/06/nasas-plan-to-get-ingenuity-through-the-martian-winter/?

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