The Mars helicopter performs more test flights. It's almost ready to go on Mars

We have known for some time that NASA is sending a helicopter to Mars. The vehicle, called the Mars helicopter, is currently undergoing flight tests at NASA's jet propulsion laboratory in California. The small helicopter will eventually head to Mars as part of the Mars 2020 Rover mission.

The Mars helicopter is quite small, less than 1.8 kg (4 lbs). It is made of lightweight carbon fiber and other materials such as aluminum, silicon and film. The version tested is the vehicle that will make the trip to Mars.

The Mars helicopter is a technology demonstration mission. This means that the overall success of the Mars 2020 Rover mission of which it is a part is not dependent on the success of the helicopter. This allows NASA to learn to design, build and operate aircraft on Mars.

It is very difficult to fly on Mars. The energy source can not be a combustion (unless it uses hydrazine) because there is no oxygen. The atmosphere is so thin that you would need huge wings, which is problematic for the trip to Mars. And any plane should be autonomous, because you can not control it remotely from here on Earth.

But there is a ton of benefits to running a plane on Mars.

It could be used to define a landing zone for other missions, with much greater accuracy than any other orbiter. He could explore landforms, fly in lava pipes and extend the scientific reach of any rover or lander mission he was part of. That's why NASA continues to work on it.

The Mars helicopter solves the problems of flying on Mars with intelligent engineering. It runs on solar energy and uses its own miniature panels to recharge its battery. He uses reverse rotation rotors to reduce clutter on his trip to Mars. Contra-rotating rotors are necessary because with a single rotor, the fuselage will rotate in the opposite direction. That's why most helicopters have a tail rotor.

It's also autonomous. This will take short flights from the rover, only 90 seconds each.

"But this recent test of the flight model was the real deal. This is our helicopter to Mars. "

MiMi Aung, project leader of the Mars helicopter.

The tests focus on how the helicopter can operate on Mars. NASA used its Space Simulator, a large vacuum chamber at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The simulator can mimic the fine atmosphere and low temperature on Mars.

"The Martian atmosphere only accounts for about 1% of the Earth's density," said Mimi Aung, project leader of the Mars helicopter at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, in New York. California. "Our test flights could have a similar atmospheric density here so you set up your aerodrome at 30,480 meters (100,000 feet) so you can not go somewhere and find that, you have to do it."

"We are preparing our first flight to Mars with more than 75 minutes of flight time with a technical model, which was a close approximation of our helicopter," said Aung. "But this recent test of the flight model was the real deal. This is our helicopter to Mars. We needed to see that it worked as advertised. "

The simulator, however, can not imitate the low gravity of Mars. To do this, engineers have developed a gravity system. This is a lanyard that attaches to the top of the helicopter and pulls it. The uninterrupted tug provides enough lift to simulate the lower Martian gravity.

"The gravity unloading system works perfectly like our helicopter," said Teddy Tzanetos, Mars Helicopters test leader. "We only needed a 2-inch (5 cm) flyby to get all the data sets needed to confirm that our Mars helicopter was flying autonomously, as expected in a thin atmosphere like that of March. there was no need to go higher. It was a sacred first flight.

This could be the beginning of something great for Martian exploration. These aerial vehicles can not carry a large payload and therefore will never replace rovers and undercarriages. But as part of a rover's mission, they could add a lot.

They could be the eyes of a rover, helping drivers to choose the best route around the obstacles. They can explore areas totally inaccessible to rovers. They could serve as explorers, finding the best places to sample or drill.

They could also provide us with a Martian eye candy, which we expect from all NASA missions.