It’s time for new flying machines on Mars. NASA has just presented the tentative design of the helicopter that will be used in the coming years on the territory of the red planet. This model, unlike Ingenuity, its predecessor, has six rotors, is 20 times heavier and will finally perform scientific tasks.
The name of the helicopter is Chopper, a clear reference to the rhythmic sound made by the rotor blades as they rotate and suspend the cabin. According to NASA, it is designed to transport scientific payloads of up to 5 kilograms at a speed of 3 kilometers per day. The movement time will be noticeably longer than that of Ingenuity. During its mission it only flew 128.3 minutes at a maximum speed of 10 meters per second.
Due to the rugged terrain of Mars, rovers current ones see their capacity for advancement and exploration limited. For example, Perseverance, the most advanced of all robots on the planet, moves at a speed of 4.2 centimeters per second. The US space agency believes that the time has come to use air transport for some specific tasks.
In 2021, the first experimental model was deployed, a helicopter with a 2014 phone chip, which exceeded all expectations. Since Ingenuity’s pioneering mission was officially deactivated, engineers continue to explore new ways to overcome the challenges of the Martian terrain.
“Scientists could use the Mars Chopper to study large swaths of terrain in detail, quickly, including areas where rovers cannot travel safely. “Chopper is in the early stages of development,” explains NASA.
Although all the details about the technology that Chopper will use have not yet been revealed, some clues have been given about it. In November 2023, the agency announced the development of a specialized supersonic rotor for the Martian atmosphere. Early tests showed that this rotor can reach a spin speed of 0.95 Mach, allowing the blades to rotate at 3,500 revolutions per minute (RPM). This represents a 1,700 RPM advance compared to the rotor used by Ingenuity. The blades of that rotor are also longer and are made of carbon fiber.
Why is flying on Mars strange?
Propeller lift on Mars presents unique challenges. The red planet has a much lighter atmosphere, it is up to 100 times less dense than that of Earth, with extreme temperatures and a gravity equivalent to one third of Earth’s. Furthermore, its surface pressure represents only 0.6% of the conditions a human experiences on Earth.
With Ingenuity, NASA scientists learned several important lessons. The helicopter weighs 1.8 kg on Earth, but below the surface of Mars its weight drops to 680 grams. It might seem like a propeller-driven machine would need less energy to fly on Mars. However, because there is “less air,” the helicopter needs to rotate its blades faster to compensate for the lack of lift. This is fundamental for helicopters as it is the aerodynamic force that acts in the opposite direction to gravity.
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