NASA’s Proposed Mars ‘Chopper’ Is Ingenuity on Steroids

Almost a twelvemonth aft Ingenuity broke a leaf and ended its experimental stint connected Mars, NASA unveiled a caller plan conception for the Martian helicopter’s successor and its’ comparatively a large boy.

NASA’s Mars Chopper, arsenic it’s called, is astir the aforesaid size arsenic an SUV, fitted with six rotors, with each rotor hosting six blades (I already did the mathematics for you, that’s a whopping 36 blades). The abstraction bureau precocious revealed a rendering of the helicopter, which is inactive successful its aboriginal conceptual and plan stages, according to NASA. Chopper task manager Teddy Tzanetos besides presented the conception during a briefing astatine the yearly gathering of the American Geophysical Union successful Washington connected December 11.

Ingenuity was the archetypal chopper to alert connected different planet, paving the mode for much susceptible choppers to travel successful its path. Its debased outgo plan and durability is helping NASA plan aboriginal concepts to research different planets successful an wholly caller way.

NASA besides shared a thrilling 30-second animation depicting the rotorcraft flying implicit the Martian terrain during a imaginable aboriginal mission. The Mars Chopper could transport subject payloads weighing up to 11 pounds (5 kilograms) implicit distances of 1.9 miles (3 kilometers) per Martian day, oregon sol. “Scientists could usage Chopper to survey ample swaths of terrain successful detail, rapidly – including areas wherever rovers cannot safely travel,” NASA explained.

NASA’s Mars Chopper concept, shown successful a plan bundle rendering. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Ingenuity walked truthful Chopper could run. The OG Martian chopper arrived connected the Red Planet successful February 2021, tucked wrong the belly of the Perseverance rover. Shortly afterwards, the 19-inch-tall (48-centimeter), 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) chopper became the archetypal powered craft to lift off from the aboveground of different planet. Although it was primitively intended to execute conscionable 5 trial flights, Ingenuity kept connected going, performing 72 flights, and flying 14 times farther than planned for a full formation clip of 2 hours.

Things came crashing down for Ingenuity earlier this twelvemonth aft the helicopter broke its blades portion landing for the 72nd time, officially ending its ngo successful January. NASA precocious concluded that in-flight navigation errors caused “high horizontal velocities astatine touchdown.”

Ingenuity fulfilled its intent of feeding accusation to NASA that would assistance it make akin craft to research Mars, and different planets, from above. During its trial mission, Ingenuity besides assisted the Perseverance rover successful exploring the Red Planet, hovering supra the Martian robot and guiding its mode crossed Mars’ dusty terrain. Even aft it crashed, Ingenuity inactive delivers upwind and avionics information to Perseverance connected a play basis.

The aboriginal Mars Chopper has immoderate large shoes to fill, Ingenuity near down a legendary bequest connected the Red Planet.