[U: Now... "Go Flight!" Tomorrow.] Two Paths -- To Picking A Flight Date, On Mars: The Ingenuity Copter.

Likely by Monday morning around 6:30 AM EDT, we will learn whether the first flight was a success. The team chose the patch, not the full re-install. or Tuesday night, then -- NASA will announce whether a small patch, or a complete software reinstall, will be the chosen approach to prepping for a flight date.

We will keep you posted -- but here's the latest from the NASA blog:

. . .As with any engineering challenge, there are multiple approaches that are considered. In this case, the team has been working two potential solutions in parallel. The approach that led to today's successful spin test entailed adding a few commands to the flight sequence. This approach was tested extensively on both Earth and Mars, and was performed without jeopardizing the safety of the helicopter.

A second approach requires minor modification and reinstallation of Ingenuity's flight control software. The software swap is a straightforward fix to a known issue. But, it will take a bit longer to perform and is a modification to software that has remained stable and unchanged for close to two years. Validation and testing have taken several days, and transfer and loading of these new files will take several more. . . .

I still think it would be fun to have it fall on the annual Star Wars fandom date, and that allows time for the lower risk full reinstall. We will keep a weather eye, on the horizon -- all the way out toward the limn of Barsoom, now. . . grin.

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