NASA's Next Mars Rover May Have Miniature Helicopter As Aerial Scout

American Space Agency NASA is reportedly contemplating sending a scaled down helicopter to the red planet to serve as the aerial scout for the Mars 2020 rover. The mini helicopter will be the first vehicle to travel through the thin atmosphere of Mars for technology demonstration, if it is actually sent.  

According to a report it is a challenge to fly on Mars as the atmosphere is just one percent of our planet; the miniature helicopter needs blades that are comparatively bigger than its full size to accomplish such a feat. "The way any of these helicopters work is the rotor blades spin up and they produce lift because of the density of the atmosphere," said Mike Meacham, NASA mechanical engineer. "So once you lose that density, you've got to spin even faster or get bigger rotor blades or get lighter.

Currently, a 2.2-pound cube Mars helicopter, approximately a tissue box's size, is being monitored at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California's Pasadena. The blades of the prototype measure 3.6 feet from one edge to another. If the mini helicopter is approved then it will take a piggyback ride on the Mars 2020 rover during its journey to the red planet, after which it will separate on landing.

The helicopter will be solar powered and have GoPro-type cameras to search for efficient and safe routes for the rover, and will have enough power to facilitate two to three minute flights every day for a distance of about 550 yards. The helicopter would also help the rover cover twice or thrice the distance it can normally travel, if the control teams on Earth rely only on the cameras and photos from orbiting satellites to plan its route.

At the moment, the main point of worry for the engineers is the takeoff and landing of the helicopter each day on Mars, because the latter is a mission's riskiest part. Therefore, the team is trying to ensure that the helicopter has a bulletproof landing system.