Europe considers a helicopter drone for future Mars missions
The European Space Agency is considering flying a technology demonstration helicopter drone on a future Mars mission.
Note that they don’t yet have the money to build this, and it appears that they don’t yet have a mission to fly it on. What they have done is just completed a preliminary study, which suggests the idea is feasible. They are now lobbying for more cash to move forward.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
The European Space Agency is considering flying a technology demonstration helicopter drone on a future Mars mission.
Note that they don’t yet have the money to build this, and it appears that they don’t yet have a mission to fly it on. What they have done is just completed a preliminary study, which suggests the idea is feasible. They are now lobbying for more cash to move forward.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
I wonder if they have considered a “lighter than air” craft? Hydrogen should be a good gas in the low oxygen martian air. A sort of hybrid? That way the craft wouldn’t be completely dependent on solar panels. It could have a tool that it drops, or a claw that could drop rocks (like a seagull) to find out whats inside without having to drill…
This is just monkies trying to look cool by imitating those who do the real thing. US Congress two weeks ago instructed NASA to add a Martian helicopter to the Mars 2020 rover, and increased the planetary science budget accordingly. Based on several years of successful development which is a real alternative. ESA hopes to simply skip that part and pretend to be in the same game:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3y7iJEe7uM
@PeterF,
Mars’ atmosphere at low altitudes is only 0.6%-1% of that on Earth’s surface. So whatever a hydrogen balloon can lift on Earth, divide that by at least 100. This is why landing on Mars is hard, parachutes only work at very high speeds. And hydrogen gas quickly escapes through thin lightweight balloon cloth. The plan now is to wait a day, or several, to Solar charge a battery in order to spend all that energy on a short vigorous propeller hop. Such a “helihopter” can take a bird’s view image of the rover’s surroundings to guide it and also study the ground where it lands. Landing, or even steering, a lighter-than-air vehicle seems harder.
I thought a U2 type long wing glider might be an idea for Barsoom.