Artist concept of the new Mars Chopper. (NASA/JPLraw/YouTube)
Ingenuity became the first aircraft to fly on another world in the first half of 2021. It explored the Martian terrain from above, proving that powered air flight was a very efficient way to move around alien worlds.
Now NASA has released a computer rendering of its next design, the Mars Chopper!
Ingenuity was a small helicopter, or rather more a drone, that was carried to Mars on board the Perseverance rover mission in 2020. It was designed as a technology demonstration to prove that powered flight was possible in the thin atmosphere of Mars.
It made its first flight on 19 April 2021 and hovered just 10 feet above the ground before safely landing again. Since then, Ingenuity has completed 60 flights on Mars, helping to survey and scout for areas of interest for further study.
This view of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was generated using data collected by the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard the agency's Perseverance Mars rover on Aug. 2, 2023, the 871st Martian day, or sol, of the mission, one day before the rotorcraft's 54th flight. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS)
Operating a drone in the Martian atmosphere offers challenges, largely due to the lower density. Compared to Earth, the atmosphere is less than 1% the density of Earth's atmosphere.
This means the blades on any aerial vehicles need to work harder and generate more lift than their Earth-bound counterparts.
Image of the Martian atmosphere and surface obtained by the Viking 1 orbiter in June 1976. (Credit: NASA/Viking 1)
Density aside, the fine dust on the surface of Mars is often lifted up into the atmosphere, which could damage the delicate mechanisms of operating craft.
Not only must these types of vehicles be carefully designed to fly in alien atmospheres, but they must also be able to protect themselves from local hazards.
Moving on from the success of the Ingenuity drone, NASA has released a rendering of its next-generation vehicle for aerial flight on Mars, known as the Mars Chopper.
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Ingenuity was a feasibility study and proved aerial flight successful. The new craft on the drawing board comes with a greater payload capacity to carry scientific instruments, such as imaging and analysis kits.
This will enable them to undertake the basic tasks, like scouting activity to support future exploration but also undertake analysis and terrain mapping work. Ultimately even providing support to the human exploration of Mars.
The image released reveals a drone-like vehicle that is about the size of an SUV with six rotors.
The newly released rendering of the Mars Chopper. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Each rotor has six blades, which are smaller than those on Ingenuity but collectively can provide even more lift.
The payload capacity of the Chopper in its current design configuration is 5 kilograms at a distance of up to 3 km. The design is a collaboration between the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and the Ames Research Center.
This new model will be a real game changer for the exploration not only of Mars but of any alien worlds with a solid surface and an atmosphere that can support flight.
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Ingenuity led the way in proving the technology and now, with the new concept Mars Choppers on the drawing board, aerial reconnaissance on these new worlds will vastly improve the value of ground-based exploration.
Remote aerial exploration will also be of invaluable benefit to support human exploration where rovers will be unable to reach.
This article was originally published by Universe Today. Read the original article.
