How Does NASA Ingenuity Is Having a Problem Flying + Other Updates Work?

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter is having trouble flying because it’s like a toy plane that suddenly starts wobbling and can’t keep going straight, maybe it got bumped or its wheels aren’t working as well as they should.

Ingenuity is a tiny robot that flies on Mars, like how you might fly a paper airplane in the park. It helps NASA’s Perseverance rover by taking pictures from above and showing what the ground looks like from high up.

But now, Ingenuity is having trouble staying steady while flying, it's like when your toy car starts going zigzag instead of driving straight on the floor. This makes it harder for it to take good pictures or move around as planned.

Ingenuity uses wheels to move around after landing, just like how you use your legs to walk. But sometimes those wheels get stuck or don’t turn smoothly, making it hard for the helicopter to position itself properly before flying again. Scientists are working on figuring out what’s going on so Ingenuity can keep helping Perseverance explore Mars!