Universe Today
At present, there are over a dozen robotic missions exploring the atmosphere and surface of Mars. These include, among others, the
, the
Opportunity rover
, the
Mars Orbiter Mission
(MOM), the
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
(MRO), the
Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN
(MAVEN) orbiter, and the soon-to-arrive
InSight Lander
.
In the coming decade, many more missions are planned.
For instance, NASA plans to expand on what
Curiosity
has accomplished by sending the
rover to conduct a sample-return mission. According to a recent announcement issued by NASA, this mission will also include the
- a small, autonomous rotorcraft that will demonstrate the viability and potential of heavier-than-air vehicles on the Red Planet.
As NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine declared in a recent NASA
press release
, this rotocraft is in keeping with NASA's long-standing traditions of innovation. "NASA has a proud history of firsts," she said. "The idea of a helicopter flying the skies of another planet is thrilling. The Mars Helicopter holds much promise for our future science, discovery, and exploration missions to Mars."
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This artist's concept depicts NASA's Mars 2020 rover exploring Mars. Credit: NASA
[/caption]
U.S. Rep. John Culberson of Texas echoed Bridenstine statement. "It's fitting that the United States of America is the first nation in history to fly the first heavier-than-air craft on another world," he
said
. "This exciting and visionary achievement will inspire young people all over the United States to become scientists and engineers, paving the way for even greater discoveries in the future."
The Mars Helicopter began as technology development project at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where it spent the past four years being designed, developed, tested and retested. The result of this is a football-sized rotorcraft that weights just under 1.8 kg (four pounds) and relies on two counter-rotating blades to spin at a rate of almost 3,000 rpm (10 times the rate of a helicopter here on Earth).
As Mimi Aung, the Mars Helicopter project manager at JPL,
indicated
:
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Artist's impression of the Mars 2020 with its sky crane landing system deployed. Credit: NASA/JPL
[/caption]
This concept is ideal for navigating through Mars' thin atmosphere, where the mean surface pressure is about 0.6% that of Earth's at sea level (0.60 kPa compared to 101.3 kPa). This low-flying helicopter would not only be able to increase the range of a rover, it will be able to explore areas that the rover would find inaccessible. As Thomas Zurbuchen, the Associate Administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate,
explained
:
Other capabilities that make it optimized for Mars exploration include lithium-ion batteries, solar cells to keep them charged, and heating mechanisms that will keep it warm during Martian nights - where average temperatures can get as low as 210 K (-63 °C; -82 °F) around the mid-latitudes. In addition, the helicopter is programmed to fly autonomously, since it cannot be flown in real-time (given the distances involved).
Commands will be issued from controllers on Earth, using the rover as a relay, who will instruct the helicopter to commence flight once it is ready to deploy. This will begin shortly after the rover arrives on the planet (which is expected to happen by February 2021) with the helicopter attached to its belly pan. The rover will then select a location to deploy the helicopter onto the ground.
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Artist's concept of the dragonfly being deployed to Titan and commencing its exploration mission. Credit: APL/Michael Carroll
[/caption]
After it is finished charging its batteries and a series of pre-flight tests are performed, controllers on Earth will relay commands to the
Mars Helicopter
to commence its first 30-day flight test campaign. This will include up to five flights that will take it to increasingly greater distances from the rover (up to a few hundred meters) for longer periods of time (up to 90 seconds).
On its first flight, the helicopter will make a short vertical climb to 3 meters (10 feet) where it will hover for about 30 seconds. Once these tests are complete, the
Mars Helicopter
will assist the rover as it conducts geological assessments and determines the habitability of its landing sight. The purpose of this will be to search for signs of ancient life on Mars and assesses the natural resources and hazards for future missions involving human explorers.
The rover will also conduct the first-ever sample-return mission from Mars, obtaining samples of rock and soil, encasing them in sealed tubes, and leaving them on the planet for future retrieval by astronauts. If all goes well, the helicopter will demonstrate that low-flying scouts and aerial vehicles can be a valuable part of any future missions. These will likely include robotic missions to Saturn's largest moon,
Titan
, where researchers are hoping to explore the surface and atmosphere using
helicopter
(such as the
Dragonfly concept
).
The
Mars 2020
mission is expected to reveal some very impressive things about the Red Planet. If the helicopter proves to be a viable part of the mission, we can expect that additional information and images will be provided from locations that a conventional rover cannot go. And in the meantime, be sure to enjoy this animation of the Mars Helicopter in action, courtesy of NASA-JPL:
Further Reading: NASA
