mars_heli

Nasa scientists are developing a helicopter drone concept at its Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, US, to study the surrounding area of Mars.

Called the Mars Helicopter, the drone will assist the agency’s Mars rover mission, which is scheduled for launch in 2020.

The vehicle will be designed to perform two to three minutes flights a day to explore the red planet faster than ground-based rovers.

Data from the helicopter could help engineers on earth plan the activities such as checking best place for the rover to collect key samples and rocks.

Nasa said that the proposed airborne companion to Mars rovers could triple the distance these vehicles can cover in a Martian day.

Across from the tip of one blade to the other, the vehicle is expected to weigh around 2.2lb and measure 3.6ft.

The helicopter will be equipped with a solar panel, to power its flight during the night.

"The proposed airborne companion to Mars rovers could triple the distance these vehicles can cover in a Martian day."

JPL chief engineer Bob Balaram said: "There is the challenge of the very low-density of the atmosphere. There’s the challenge of keeping the whole mass of the system small so that we don’t overwhelm the lift capability of this system.

"It has to be autonomous in terms of being able to fly and maintain stable flight.

"And then, this system has to repeatedly takeoff and land on natural rocky terrain like you see out here. And then, the other one is that it has to survive the harsh environment of Mars."

Nasa engineers have so far conducted a series of tests in a 25ft vacuum chamber, which resembles Mars density.

Plans for the proposed Mars helicopter drone concept comes after Nasa has partnered with tech giant Microsoft to develop a new software, OnSight, to work virtually on Mars with the Curiosity rover.

Image: The Mars Helicopter will assist Nasa’s Mars rover mission. Photo: courtesy of Nasa.