First flight test for NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter postponed to Wednesday

NASA engineers decided to delay the departure of the Ingenuity helicopter to Mars at least Wednesday, April 14, after encountering a small computer during a rotor spin test on Friday night, the agency said on Saturday. The small boat is healthy, but the engineers need more time to update the telemetry data from an unexpected hiccup before proceeding.

The intelligence, a four-pound helicopter that landed on Mars on February 18 attached to NASA's Perseverance rover, was originally scheduled to launch its first flight test late Sunday night (or, during Mars Daytime). Preliminary details on whether the flight was successful were expected to arrive on Monday morning, around 4AM ET.

But data from a rapid rotor test conducted on Friday showed that the test sequence "ended prematurely due to the expiration of the 'watchdog'," NASA said. It happens when an Ingenuity computer tries to switch from pre-flight mode to airplane mode.

Ingenuity's "watchdog timer" is just that - a software watch that directs the sequence of helicopter inspection tests and warns engineers if anything looks unusual. "It helps the system to stay safe by not going ahead if a problem is identified and then it is done as planned," NASA said in a post.

NASA has emphasized that the industry is healthy and that intelligence is still actively communicating with engineers at the organization's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.

The ingenuity was used by Perseverance in the face of Martian on April 4, starting a 31-day clock in which five aircraft tests were scheduled. At its first demonstration, the helicopter will soar 10 feet [10 m] above the surface and soar for about 30 seconds, aiming to complete the first-ever grounded flight. Depending on how the first test goes, the next tests will involve ingenuity ascending to higher ground and be heard inside its track-bound aircraft at Mars ’Jezero Crater.