Waspie_Dwarf Posted January 23, 2015 #1 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Helicopter Could be 'Scout' for Mars Rovers Getting around on Mars is tricky business. Each NASA rover has delivered a wealth of information about the history and composition of the Red Planet, but a rover's vision is limited by the view of onboard cameras, and images from spacecraft orbiting Mars are the only other clues to where to drive it. To have a better sense of where to go and what's worth studying on Mars, it could be useful to have a low-flying scout.Enter the Mars Helicopter, a proposed add-on to Mars rovers of the future that could potentially triple the distance these vehicles currently drive in a Martian day, and deliver a new level of visual information for choosing which sites to explore. Read more... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted January 23, 2015 Author #2 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Crazy Engineering: Mars HelicopterJPL engineers are working on a small helicopter that could ‘scout’ a trail for future Mars rovers, but getting a chopper that could fly in the Martian atmosphere is tricky. Episode 2 of Crazy Engineering.Credit: NASA Jet Propulsion LaboratorySource: NASA/JPL - Videos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubblykiss Posted January 26, 2015 #3 Share Posted January 26, 2015 I can hardly wait to lose all interest in this concept in the next few minutes only to have interest temporarily revived when something goes wrong with the project. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRYSiiSx2 Posted January 27, 2015 #4 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Is there even enough of an atmosphere for a helicopter to generate lift on Mars? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted January 27, 2015 Author #5 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Is there even enough of an atmosphere for a helicopter to generate lift on Mars? Do you really think NASA engineers would publically suggest a concept BEFORE working out if it was possible? The concept has been tested in a vacuum chamber with a simulated Mars atmosphere. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRYSiiSx2 Posted January 27, 2015 #6 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Do you really think NASA engineers would publically suggest a concept BEFORE working out if it was possible? The concept has been tested in a vacuum chamber with a simulated Mars atmosphere. . The fact that they tested it confirms it's a valid question. I work a lot of hours so I don't have time to be on top of all these things lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mantis914 Posted January 28, 2015 #7 Share Posted January 28, 2015 My question is this: Why all the interest in Mars? If there's nothing there but rocks that have funny shapes, why waste time? You want to explore a place with funny rocks, send drones into Death Valley... unless, there is a reason for exploration and colonization... such as rare elements, mining or even, gasp, you actually did find something there that's... spooky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seeder Posted January 28, 2015 #8 Share Posted January 28, 2015 My question is this: Why all the interest in Mars? If there's nothing there but rocks that have funny shapes, why waste time? You want to explore a place with funny rocks, send drones into Death Valley... unless, there is a reason for exploration and colonization... such as rare elements, mining or even, gasp, you actually did find something there that's... spooky. heres a quote for you The Defining Question for Mars Exploration: Life on Mars?Among our discoveries about Mars, one stands out above all others: the possible presence of liquid water on Mars, either in its ancient past or preserved in the subsurface today. Water is key because almost everywhere we find water on Earth, we find life. If Mars once had liquid water, or still does today, it's compelling to ask whether any microscopic life forms could have developed on its surface. Is there any evidence of life in the planet's past? If so, could any of these tiny living creatures still exist today? Imagine how exciting it would be to answer, "Yes!!" Even if Mars is devoid of past or present life, however, there's still much excitement on the horizon. We ourselves might become the "life on Mars" should humans choose to travel there one day. Meanwhile, we still have a lot to learn about this amazing planet and its extreme environments. http://mars.nasa.gov/programmissions/overview/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark_Grey Posted January 28, 2015 #9 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I still think it's so cool that we're scouting other planets with robots. Humanity **** YEAH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DieChecker Posted January 28, 2015 #10 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I'd have imagined the propellers to have been larger given the lighter atmosphere. I look forward to the aerial images that will be provided. Hopefully such aerial views will prevent people from seeing stuff that isn't there... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seeder Posted January 28, 2015 #11 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I'd have imagined the propellers to have been larger given the lighter atmosphere. I look forward to the aerial images that will be provided. Hopefully such aerial views will prevent people from seeing stuff that isn't there... If they pull it off, a drone flying over mars, even if only for such a short time/distance, could send masses of images home that the rover just couldn't take. Its quite an exciting proposition 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DieChecker Posted January 28, 2015 #12 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Here's a related video. Good explanation of some of the engineering aspects.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myles Posted January 28, 2015 #13 Share Posted January 28, 2015 My question is this: Why all the interest in Mars? If there's nothing there but rocks that have funny shapes, why waste time? You want to explore a place with funny rocks, send drones into Death Valley... unless, there is a reason for exploration and colonization... such as rare elements, mining or even, gasp, you actually did find something there that's... spooky. Good question. One part of the answer is an evolutionary step in exploration. Exploring Death Valley does not help us prepare for exploring other planets besides Mars. A copter capable of flying on Mars makes it easier to make one that will operate on another planet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibeliever Posted January 28, 2015 #14 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I've thought they should send a flying drone to Mars for years now. But I would think that a big concern would be keeping it safe during one of Mars' famous dust storms. Even with low atmospheric pressure (about 1% of earth), wind speeds of 60 mph could be a problem for something that is light enough to fly there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qxcontinuum Posted January 29, 2015 #15 Share Posted January 29, 2015 My question is this: Why all the interest in Mars? If there's nothing there but rocks that have funny shapes, why waste time? You want to explore a place with funny rocks, send drones into Death Valley... unless, there is a reason for exploration and colonization... such as rare elements, mining or even, gasp, you actually did find something there that's... spooky. exactly .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Likely Guy Posted January 29, 2015 #16 Share Posted January 29, 2015 exactly .... May I redirect you to post *8, perhaps you missed it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schizoid78 Posted January 29, 2015 #17 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Isn't Hellraiser puzzle box below this thing? Well, probably better to summon demons on Mars than on Earth! S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merc14 Posted January 29, 2015 #18 Share Posted January 29, 2015 I've thought they should send a flying drone to Mars for years now. But I would think that a big concern would be keeping it safe during one of Mars' famous dust storms. Even with low atmospheric pressure (about 1% of earth), wind speeds of 60 mph could be a problem for something that is light enough to fly there. I think you'd have to provide a hangar of some kind onboard the rover to store it between flights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paperdyer Posted January 29, 2015 #19 Share Posted January 29, 2015 I think you'd have to provide a hangar of some kind onboard the rover to store it between flights. Wouldn't the hanger need some type of anchoring system so it doesn't get blown over? Also if you only have 1 hanger, would this not limit the range of the drone, at least from a safety viewpoint of being able to keep the drone out of the dust storms? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mantis914 Posted January 29, 2015 #20 Share Posted January 29, 2015 heres a quote for you Yeah, that is until the tiny creatures you encounter are found to be viruses or something else that could possibly be brought back and be something worse than we've ever seen before. If there were liquid water on Mars, we would've found it by now or even before then, I'm sure the eggheads have a way of telling a planet has water before even landing on it. It's kind of like how aliens would come here looking for intelligent life and quickly zoom away disappointed... Good question. One part of the answer is an evolutionary step in exploration. Exploring Death Valley does not help us prepare for exploring other planets besides Mars. A copter capable of flying on Mars makes it easier to make one that will operate on another planet. It sure would be cheaper though than losing a Polar Explorer that bounced into neverland costing the taxpayers millions if not billions with nothing to show for it... By the way, this is nothing personal. If I'm being negative these days, its just that there are a new bunch of students that have come in to our campus this semester and well, let me just say this... I've been facepalming a lot lately... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myles Posted January 29, 2015 #21 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Yeah, that is until the tiny creatures you encounter are found to be viruses or something else that could possibly be brought back and be something worse than we've ever seen before. If there were liquid water on Mars, we would've found it by now or even before then, I'm sure the eggheads have a way of telling a planet has water before even landing on it. It's kind of like how aliens would come here looking for intelligent life and quickly zoom away disappointed... I don't think we are capable of bringing anything back. I think it is kind of cool to be exploring Mars. Not sure we benefit enough to outweigh the costs though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Rockatansky Posted January 30, 2015 #22 Share Posted January 30, 2015 ummm, I don't mean to state the obvious but why not just have the chopper go and tell the slow rover to start heading to the nearest museum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oniomancer Posted January 30, 2015 #23 Share Posted January 30, 2015 What, you mean like AMEE from Red Planet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Likely Guy Posted January 30, 2015 #24 Share Posted January 30, 2015 (edited) ummm, I don't mean to state the obvious but why not just have the chopper go and tell the slow rover to start heading to the nearest museum. The rover digs and drills, prods and probes, for it's relatively small size it's a 'heavy weight'. It has to analyse the samples and transmit the information. The 'chopper', in conception, would never be able to perform those tasks as it would be too heavy to fly. Once NASA designs a flying recon probe, that will actually be able to fly on Mars, that will probably be the next step. It's not that obvious. Edited January 30, 2015 by Likely Guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now