diff --git a/mir_connector/.gitignore b/mir_connector/.gitignore
index 4f2de87..d0e2792 100644
--- a/mir_connector/.gitignore
+++ b/mir_connector/.gitignore
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+.idea/
 *.egg-info/
 *.egg
 __pycache__/
diff --git a/mir_connector/inorbit_mir_connector/src/connector.py b/mir_connector/inorbit_mir_connector/src/connector.py
index ece72e9..7ed19b5 100644
--- a/mir_connector/inorbit_mir_connector/src/connector.py
+++ b/mir_connector/inorbit_mir_connector/src/connector.py
@@ -279,6 +279,10 @@ def start(self):
             except Exception:
                 self.logger.exception("Error reporting mission")
 
+    def inorbit_connected(self):
+        """Check if the InOrbit MQTT session is connected."""
+        return self.inorbit_sess.client.is_connected()
+
     def stop(self):
         """Exit the Connector cleanly."""
         self._should_run = False