NASA's Mars helicopter takes break as winter and dust season starts on the planet

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is taking a break for the next few weeks as the dust and winter season has started on the Red Planet, meaning there's more dust in the air and less sunlight to help recharge the tiny rotorcraft's batteries.

Ingenuity was designed for a short flight-test campaign during the much warmer Martian spring. Increased amounts of dust in the atmosphere, combined with lower daytime temperatures and shorter days, make it challenging for the solar-powered rotorcraft to continue its operation during winter and the dust season.

"Dust levels are expected to subside later in July, so the team has decided to give the helicopter's batteries a break for a few weeks and build their daily state of charge back up," the agency said Wednesday.

Ingenuity is expected to be back in the air around the start of August.

The #MarsHelicopter is taking a break for the next few weeks. It's winter and dust season on Mars, which means less sunlight to recharge Ingenuity's batteries. But don't worry, the team expects the rotorcraft to fly again in August. https://t.co/SzmZg7ln7l pic.twitter.com/VJIPsAb0aE

— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) July 14, 2022

Built and managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA-JPL), the Ingenuity is a technology demonstration to test powered, controlled flight on another world for the first time.

The tiny Mars Helicopter landed on the planet's Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021, attached to the belly of the Perseverance rover. The helicopter was planned to complete no more than five flights, but it has completed 29 autonomous flights.