Wow! That's the first time they've shown onboard landing video on a drone ship.

https://mars.nasa.gov/system/news_it...elfie-1200.gif

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took a selfie with the Ingenuity helicopter, seen here about 13 feet (3.9 meters) from the rover in this image taken April 6, 2021, the 46th Martian day, or sol, of the mission by the WATSON (Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering) camera on the SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals) instrument, located at the end of the rover's long robotic arm.

Perseverance’s selfie with Ingenuity is made up of 62 individual images stitched together once they are sent back to Earth; they were taken in sequence while the rover was looking at the helicopter, then again while it was looking at the WATSON camera. The Curiosity rover takes similar selfies using a camera on its robotic arm. Videos explaining how the rovers take their selfies can be found here.

NASA engineers have decided to delay the Ingenuity helicopter’s debut flight on Mars to at least Wednesday, April 14th, after running into a minor computer glitch during a rotor spin test late Friday night, the agency said on Saturday. The tiny craft is healthy, but engineers need some more time to review telemetry data from the unexpected hiccup before proceeding.

Ingenuity, a mini four-pound helicopter that arrived on Mars February 18th attached to NASA’s Perseverance rover, was initially slated to carry out its first flight test late Sunday night (or, mid-day Mars time). The first bits of data on whether the flight attempt was successful was expected to come early Monday morning, around 4AM ET.

But data from a high-speed rotor test carried out on Friday showed the test sequence “ended early due to a ‘watchdog’ timer expiration,” NASA said. It happened as Ingenuity’s computer was trying to switch from pre-flight mode to flight mode.

Ingenuity’s “watchdog timer” is just that — a software-based watchdog that oversees the helicopter’s test sequences and alerts engineers if anything looks abnormal. “It helps the system stay safe by not proceeding if an issue is observed and worked as planned,” NASA said in a blog post.

NASA emphasized the craft is healthy, and Ingenuity is still in good contact with engineers at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.

Ingenuity was deployed by Perseverance on the Martian surface on April 4th, kicking off a 31-day clock in which five flight tests are planned. For its first flight demonstration, the helicopter will ascend 10 feet above the surface and hover for about 30 seconds, aiming to achieve the first-ever powered flight on another world. Depending how the first test goes, subsequent tests will involve Ingenuity soaring to higher altitudes and buzzing around within its running track-shaped flight zone at Mars’ Jezero Crater.

Nothing like buggy code on another planet...

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarsHelicopter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MarsHelicopter</a> update: Ingenuity is healthy, but it needs a flight software update. While the development of the software is straightforward, validating and uplinking it will take time. We will set a new flight date next week. <a href="https://t.co/b0MzMIPGKz">https://t.co/b0MzMIPGKz</a> <a href="https://t.co/R2wYKaCxqY">pic.twitter.com/R2wYKaCxqY</a></p>&mdash; NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASAJPL/status/1381759698647482370?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

NS-15 launch in one hour:

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T-9:00

Wow. I really thought SpaceX was a long shot for this. But huge news for them. Hope it works.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/NASA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NASA</a> has selected <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpaceX</a> to continue the development of its Human Landing System for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Artemis?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Artemis</a> program.<br><br>The Human Landing System will take astronauts from lunar orbit to the lunar surface and back. Read the full announcement: <a href="https://t.co/tkojemwUUr">https://t.co/tkojemwUUr</a> <a href="https://t.co/bvOX6DQsXA">pic.twitter.com/bvOX6DQsXA</a></p>&mdash; NASA’s Artemis Program (@NASAArtemis) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASAArtemis/status/1383156226360492035?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Awesome news, although I'm surprised they didn't throw some cash at Dynetics. While small, their solution was pretty cheap and simple. They could have done both. I like what they did with COTS and CCP.

That's what I expected. And if they picked one, I really didn't think it would be SpaceX. But I guess they're getting a reputation for setting their sights high and delivering.

I'm thinking successfully launching astronauts was probably a huge mark in their favor.

I guess that's better than the first uncontrolled flight...

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">�� <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarsHelicopter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MarsHelicopter</a> Update<br><br>We&#39;re targeting as soon as Monday for the first controlled flight on Mars. Watch with the team as they receive data and find out if they were successful. Meet us in mission control April 19 at 6:15am ET (10:15am UTC): <a href="https://t.co/xAdT9tgYr1">https://t.co/xAdT9tgYr1</a> <a href="https://t.co/8wJEr3CLJa">pic.twitter.com/8wJEr3CLJa</a></p>&mdash; NASA (@NASA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1383483430235557889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">You wouldn’t believe what I just saw. <br><br>More images and video to come...<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarsHelicopter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MarsHelicopter</a><a href="https://t.co/PLapgbHeZU">https://t.co/PLapgbHeZU</a> <a href="https://t.co/mbiOGx4tJZ">pic.twitter.com/mbiOGx4tJZ</a></p>&mdash; NASA&#39;s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASAPersevere/status/1384104815567855626?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Very cool. Thanks for posting.

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That's pretty ****ing awesome. Anyone know the resolution on Ingenuity's camera offhand? Would love to see some 4k footage of the ground below as it soars over the rocks.