NASA plans to send a mini-helicopter to Mars

NASA plans to send a mini-helicopter to Mars

The Mars helicopter is a small autonomous vehicle that will travel with the Mars 2020 rover to demonstrate the viability and potential of heavier air transports on the Red Planet.

NASA representatives said they plan to send the first helicopter to Mars in 2020. This is a miniature drone that can improve our understanding of the Red Planet. The mechanism is simply called “Mars Helicopter” and weighs at least 1.8 kg. It will be attached to the wheel rover Mars 2020, whose goal is to determine the habitability of the environment of Mars, the search for ancient life and the assessment of the dangers for future colonists.

Subtle atmosphere

The idea appeared in August 2013 as a project in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. To fly in a thin Martian atmosphere, a space helicopter must be ultralight, but also as powerful as possible. On Earth, the highest elevation is 12,100 m.

The Martian atmosphere reaches only 1% of the earth, so the height increases to 30,500 m. Engineers created double rotating blades to achieve a rotation of 3000 revolutions per minute, which is 10 times faster than on Earth.

The device will install solar batteries for charging lithium-ion batteries and a heating mechanism to prevent breakdowns on frosty Martian nights. The plan includes a 30-day flight test with 5 flights. The first flight requires a short vertical lift of 3 m. If successful, this model can be used to fly to hard-to-reach places. If not, then it will not affect the mission of Mars 2020.

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