<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: rgb(5, 5, 5); white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><font face="Gill Sans" size="5" class="">Mars Helicopter Flight Delayed to No Earlier than April 14</font></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: rgb(5, 5, 5); font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Written by NASA/JPL</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: rgb(5, 5, 5); font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: rgb(5, 5, 5); white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><div class="img_large" style="font-size: 17px; font-family: Montserrat, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: rgb(34, 34, 34); white-space: normal;"><a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/images/mepjpl/heliocopter-12001.jpg" style="color: rgb(74, 151, 225); text-decoration: none;" class=""><img alt="NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter" vspace="0" hspace="0" style="border: none;" apple-inline="yes" id="387D8078-B391-476D-B9F0-C7740A7A6420" src="cid:E1C58ED0-C539-42EC-9B06-6A2CC0E4ACF2" class=""></a></div><div class="img_caption" style="color: rgb(90, 100, 112); line-height: normal; white-space: normal;"><font face="Gill Sans" style="font-size: 15px;" class="">NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter unlocked its rotor blades, allowing them to spin freely, on April 7, 2021, the 47th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU. <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/resources/25795/ingenuitys-blades-are-released/" style="color: rgb(74, 151, 225); text-decoration: none;" class="">Download image ›</a></font></div></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: rgb(5, 5, 5); font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""> NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: rgb(5, 5, 5); font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter unlocked its rotor blades, allowing them to spin freely, on April 7, 2021, the 47th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU. Download image ›</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: rgb(5, 5, 5); font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Based on data from the Ingenuity Mars helicopter that arrived late Friday night, NASA has chosen to reschedule the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter’s first experimental flight to no earlier than April 14.</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: rgb(5, 5, 5); font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><span style="font-family: inherit;" class=""><a class="esr5mh6w nhd2j8a9 kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 p7hjln8o r7d6kgcz rq0escxv f1sip0of e9989ue4 oygrvhab qu0x051f i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr py34i1dx gpro0wi8 a8nywdso lzcic4wl nc684nl6 jb3vyjys hcukyx3x oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1" href="https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/status/291/mars-helicopter-flight-delayed-to-no-earlier-than-april-14/?fbclid=IwAR2_YelXI0tTdVGHmJ7BuKTeFvcc--Uv6SuAseQXiwhmWAkgPShIvfqD5kA" rel="nofollow noopener" role="link" tabindex="0" target="_blank" style="color: var(--blue-link); cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; outline: none; list-style: none; border: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; touch-action: manipulation; text-align: inherit; display: inline; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit;">https://mars.nasa.gov/.../mars-helicopter-flight-delayed.../</a></span> </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: rgb(5, 5, 5); font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">During a high-speed spin test of the rotors on Friday, the command sequence controlling the test ended early due to a “watchdog” timer expiration. This occurred as it was trying to transition the flight computer from ‘Pre-Flight’ to ‘Flight’ mode. The helicopter is safe and healthy and communicated its full telemetry set to Earth.</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: rgb(5, 5, 5); font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">The watchdog timer oversees the command sequence and alerts the system to any potential issues. It helps the system stay safe by not proceeding if an issue is observed and worked as planned.</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: rgb(5, 5, 5); font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">The helicopter team is reviewing telemetry to diagnose and understand the issue. Following that, they will reschedule the full-speed test.</div></body></html>