NASA regains contact with mini-helicopter on Mars
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Re: NASA regains contact with mini-helicopter on Mars
#2We will use more helicopters instead of rovers for new missions ?
Or larger crafts would be much harder or riskier to use ?
Or maybe have a helicopter that can move the rover with the equipment to different locations.
Re: NASA regains contact with mini-helicopter on Mars
#3We will use more helicopters instead of rovers for new missions ? Or larger crafts would be much harder or riskier to use ? Or maybe have a helicopter that can move the rover with the equipment to different locations.
The existing helicopter is extremely small and light, IIRC. less than one kg. So it definitely won't be picking up a 900kg rover, even if you tried to scale it up somehow. The atmosphere is just too thin to support anything but a minimal payload.
But yeah having more helicopters might be feasible - for surveying the surface.
Re: NASA regains contact with mini-helicopter on Mars
#4We will use more helicopters instead of rovers for new missions ? Or larger crafts would be much harder or riskier to use ? Or maybe have a helicopter that can move the rover with the equipment to different locations.
That's the goal, yes. Depending on the destination, naturally. Here's what's planned for Titan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonfly_(spacecraft)
Re: NASA regains contact with mini-helicopter on Mars
#5We will use more helicopters instead of rovers for new missions ? Or larger crafts would be much harder or riskier to use ? Or maybe have a helicopter that can move the rover with the equipment to different locations.
The existing helicopter is extremely small and light, IIRC. less than one kg. So it definitely won't be picking up a 900kg rover, even if you tried to scale it up somehow. The atmosphere is just too thin to support anything but a minimal payload. But yeah having more helicopters might be feasible - for surveying the surface.
Is there a problem of scaling this up to say a 20kg payload?
I’m not an aeronautical engineer, so I guess what I’m asking is if there is some problem scaling up flying machines in an extremely thin atmosphere?
Re: NASA regains contact with mini-helicopter on Mars
#6We will use more helicopters instead of rovers for new missions ? Or larger crafts would be much harder or riskier to use ? Or maybe have a helicopter that can move the rover with the equipment to different locations.
Ingenuity was just a technology demonstrator. I think it demonstrated the technology splendidly, so we are likely to see more helicopters on Mars in the future.
Not sure if Nasa has said yet which roles they see for future Mars helicopters. The initial idea behind Ingenuity was to use them as scouting vehicles for rovers. Of course rovers improved a lot too, with better autonomous driving. But with a Mars rover driving about 100 meters/yards per day scouting helicopters are still useful.
Maybe we will also see Helicopters carrying more instruments themselves. But I imagine in the beginning that's mostly better imaging instruments. Weight is still an issue for flying things, no matter the planet. But maybe we will see some future missions that instead of a car-sized rover and one tiny helicopter have a fleet of helicopters with a small support-rover for exploring wider areas.
Re: NASA regains contact with mini-helicopter on Mars
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
The existing helicopter is extremely small and light, IIRC. less than one kg. So it definitely won't be picking up a 900kg rover, even if you tried to scale it up somehow. The atmosphere is just too thin to support anything but a minimal payload. But yeah having more helicopters might be feasible - for surveying the surface.
Is there a problem of scaling this up to say a 20kg payload? I’m not an aeronautical engineer, so I guess what I’m asking is if there is some problem scaling up flying machines in an extremely thin atmosphere?
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Re: NASA regains contact with mini-helicopter on Mars
#8We will use more helicopters instead of rovers for new missions ? Or larger crafts would be much harder or riskier to use ? Or maybe have a helicopter that can move the rover with the equipment to different locations.
I think the current plan is that helicopters will be very light with minimal instrumentation and will be used mostly to scout ahead for rovers. The rovers will be much heavier and include many instruments.
(Of course, all of NASA's long-term plans for Mars would be completely disrupted if Starship lowers the cost-per-kg of delivering equipment by two orders of magnitude, which arguably is likely.)
Re: NASA regains contact with mini-helicopter on Mars
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
The existing helicopter is extremely small and light, IIRC. less than one kg. So it definitely won't be picking up a 900kg rover, even if you tried to scale it up somehow. The atmosphere is just too thin to support anything but a minimal payload. But yeah having more helicopters might be feasible - for surveying the surface.
Is there a problem of scaling this up to say a 20kg payload? I’m not an aeronautical engineer, so I guess what I’m asking is if there is some problem scaling up flying machines in an extremely thin atmosphere?
In a thin atmosphere, lifting a heavier payload needs bigger rotors or increased RPM, which increases power demands and structural stress. The challenge is to keep the vehicle light enough to fly while also making it sturdy enough to carry the payload and survive environments.
Re: NASA regains contact with mini-helicopter on Mars
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
The existing helicopter is extremely small and light, IIRC. less than one kg. So it definitely won't be picking up a 900kg rover, even if you tried to scale it up somehow. The atmosphere is just too thin to support anything but a minimal payload. But yeah having more helicopters might be feasible - for surveying the surface.
Is there a problem of scaling this up to say a 20kg payload? I’m not an aeronautical engineer, so I guess what I’m asking is if there is some problem scaling up flying machines in an extremely thin atmosphere?
It scales up to 20kg, yes.