# Bad news! NASA loses contact with its mini-helicopter Ingenuity on Mars | Tech News (HT Tech) > NASA has lost contact with its tiny helicopter Ingenuity during the hard-working craft's 72nd flight, the space agency said. # Bad news! NASA loses contact with its mini-helicopter Ingenuity on Mars ## NASA has lost contact with its tiny helicopter Ingenuity during the hard-working craft's 72nd flight, the space agency said. Jan 21 2024, 13:08 IST ![Follow on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/follow-us-facebook.png) ![Follow on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/follow-us-facebook-hover.png) ![Share](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Share.png) ![Share](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Shareclicked.png) ![Share on WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/whatsapp.png) ![Share on WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/whatsapp-hover.png) ![Share on Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/twitter.png) ![Share on Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/twitter-hover.png) ![Share on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/facebook.png) ![Share on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/facebook-hover.png) ![Bookmark](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Bookmark.png) ![Bookmarked](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Bookmarked.png) ![NASA](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/img/2024/01/21/1600x900/NASA_1705809955259_1705809955427.jpg) ![icon](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/imageviewall.png) NASA has lost contact with its tiny helicopter Ingenuity during its 72nd flight. Engineers are attempting to re-establish communications after it ended abruptly on Thursday. (NASA/JPL-Caltech) ![Author Photo](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/HTTech-new-circle-logo.png) ### By AFP NASA has lost contact with its tiny helicopter Ingenuity during the hard-working craft's 72nd flight, the space agency said. The agency's engineers are attempting to re-establish communications, which ended abruptly on Thursday as the craft was making its descent from a test flight, NASA said late Friday. Ingenuity, which resembles a large drone, had arrived on Mars in 2021 with the rover Perseverance and became the first motorized craft to fly autonomously on another planet. Data from the helicopter's flights are transmitted via Perseverance back to Earth. Also read click here. On its flight Thursday -- "a quick pop-up vertical flight to check out the helicopter's systems, following an unplanned early landing during its previous flight," NASA said -- Ingenuity successfully attained an altitude of 40 feet (12 meters). But "during its planned descent, communications between the helicopter and rover terminated early, prior to touchdown," the agency said, adding that "the Ingenuity team is analyzing available data and considering next steps to reestablish communications." In a post on X, the former Twitter, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory added that Perseverance was temporarily "out of line-of-sight with Ingenuity, but the team could consider driving closer for a visual inspection." NASA has lost contact with the helicopter before, including for an agonizing two months last year. The mini rotorcraft, which weighs just four pounds (1.8 kilograms), has far exceeded its original goal of undertaking five flights over 30 days on the red planet. In all, it has covered just over 10 miles (17 kilometers) and reached altitudes of up to 79 feet (24 meters). Its longevity has proved remarkable, particularly considering that it must survive glacially cold Martian nights, kept warm by the solar panels that recharge its batteries during daylight hours. Working with Perseverance, it has acted as an aerial scout to assist its wheeled companion in searching for possible signs of ancient microbial life. ## Also read these top stories today: AI chatbots birth windfall for chipmakers! AI is going to be the new driver of growth for the foreseeable future, and the whole chip industry will benefit. Yes, the chatbots' popularity will be a windfall for TSMC. Read all about it here. AI paranoia? Leaders at Davos are worried about AI fake news. But they mustn’t forget how Facebook and TikTok spread it. Dive in here. Found it interesting? Go on, and share it with everyone you know. Apple Watch without blood oxygen feature better? 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