WASHINGTON, Jan  20, 2024 (BSS/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.

       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.