National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Jet Propulsion Lab’s mini helicopter on Mars named Ingenuity is preparing for its 14th flight on the red planet. However, with the changing weather on the neighbouring planet, the upcoming flight will be facing some new challenges. In a statement issued by NASA’s Perseverance rover team last week, it was revealed that atmospheric density on the planet has dropped which will affect the flight. The statement mentioned that as their Mars mission entered its sixth month, the planet has entered a season where the air densities in Jezero Crater are falling to much lower levels. The scientists at NASA speculate that in the coming months they may observe densities as low as 0.012 kg/m3 (1.0% of Earth’s density) during the afternoon hours that are considered preferable for the flight.

Perseverance made its landing on Mars in February 2021. Attached to the rover was the Ingenuity helicopter which conducted its first flight on the planet in April. NASA also explained that this change in atmospheric density at Mars is something that the Ingenuity helicopter was not tested for back on Earth. According to their calculations, NASA expected Ingenuity’s five-flight mission to be completed within the first few months after Perseverance’s landing in February 2021. Hence Ingenuity was prepared for flights at atmospheric densities between 0.0145 and 0.0185 kg/m3, which is equivalent to 1.2-1.5% of Earth’s atmospheric density at sea level. However, the recent development on the planet is expected to affect the 14th flight of Ingenuity.