Prototype airplane could one day fly on Mars

[UM-Bot]

Students in the US have conducted a successful test flight of a small remotely piloted glider aircraft.

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/297964/prototype-airplane-could-one-day-fly-on-mars

[Merc14]

Not sure how testing this in Earth's atmosphere proves it will work in Mars' atmosphere as the atmosphere on Mars is far less dense than on earth (6.1 mb vs. 1,013.25 mb) and comprised of different levels of various gases.

[Parsec]

3 hours ago, Merc14 said:

Not sure how testing this in Earth's atmosphere proves it will work in Mars' atmosphere as the atmosphere on Mars is far less dense than on earth (6.1 mb vs. 1,013.25 mb) and comprised of different levels of various gases.

Agreed.

On the other hand we have to take into account the different gravity as well, possibly that partly compensates.

Adding to your observation, let's don't forget that one of the main limitations today for civil and professional drone use (I mean not military) is the time flight, around 20 minutes on average.

And you don't have sockets where you can plug and recharge on Mars.

 

Still, what matters to me is more the educational side of the program and the fact that it exposes young minds to "the real stuff" and get them involved in today/tomorrow tech.

I reckon it can be very inspirational and basically you are raising your new generation of engeneers

[Merc14]

29 minutes ago, Parsec said:

Agreed.

On the other hand we have to take into account the different gravity as well, possibly that partly compensates.

Adding to your observation, let's don't forget that one of the main limitations today for civil and professional drone use (I mean not military) is the time flight, around 20 minutes on average.

And you don't have sockets where you can plug and recharge on Mars.

 

Still, what matters to me is more the educational side of the program and the fact that it exposes young minds to "the real stuff" and get them involved in today/tomorrow tech.

I reckon it can be very inspirational and basically you are raising your new generation of engeneers

Excellent point and this does motivate kids to seek careers in science and engineering.

[eddword]

I have often thought about a better way to traverse the martian landscape, As apposed to ground exploration , and I always came up with some kind of aerial type of vehicle... Say, like a solar powered blimp or even a rotor powered type of drone.
But we would definitely have to have something that could take off, hover or even land with ease.Much more ground could be covered that way and in accessible areas could be reached. But one thing is for sure it would be wise to send a fleet of small aerial observers instead of just one.They could even be dispatched from a mother ship in orbit in the upper atmosphere and maybe a centralized ground base.. This way they could share information with each other and avoid areas that are inhospitable or pose a danger to the craft. It would be a shame to go through all the work needed just to have it crash on the first day.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Potential Mars Airplane Resumes Flight

Quote

Flight tests have resumed on subscale aircraft that could one day observe the Martian atmosphere and a variant that will improve collection of Earth’s weather data.

Work on the shape of the aircraft and the systems it will need to fly autonomously and collect data are ongoing for the Preliminary Research Aerodynamic Design to Land on Mars, or Prandtl-M aircraft. Student interns with support from staff members at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center in California are advancing the project.

  Read More: NASA