NASA tests gen-next Mars helicopter design
On Earth, the US space agency tested a new rotor that could be used with future Mars helicopters at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California
Washington: In a historic first, NASA has tested next-generation Mars helicopter design on both Earth and the Red Planet.
On Earth, the US space agency tested a new rotor that could be used with future Mars helicopters at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, spinning at near-supersonic speeds (0.95 Mach).
On the other hand, Ingenuity Mars Helicopter achieved new altitude and airspeed records on the Red Planet in the name of experimental flight testing.
"Our next-generation Mars helicopter testing has literally had the best of both worlds," said Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity’s project manager and manager for the Mars Sample Recovery Helicopters, in a statement.
"Here on Earth, you have all the instrumentation and hands-on immediacy you could hope for while testing new aircraft components. On Mars, you have the real off-world conditions you could never truly re-create here on Earth," Tzanetos added. That includes a whisper-thin atmosphere and significantly less gravity than on Earth.
The next-generation carbon fibre rotor blades being tested on Earth are more than 10 centimetres longer than Ingenuity’s, with greater strength and a different design. NASA thinks these blades could enable bigger, more capable Mars helicopters. The challenge is, as the blade tips approach supersonic speeds, vibration-causing turbulence can quickly get out of hand.
For three weeks in September, a team monitored sensors, metres, and cameras as the blades endured run after run at ever-higher speeds and greater pitch angles.
"We spun our blades up to 3,500 rpm, which is 750 revolutions per minute faster than the Ingenuity blades have gone,” said Tyler Del Sesto, Sample Recovery Helicopter deputy test conductor at JPL.
