NASA is developing a drone to explore Mars unmanned

NASA is an unmanned Mars explorerRover"To collect the soil at the surface of Mars, but in order to investigate the places that can not go with Rover, a new exploration drone"Extreme Access Flyer"We are developing.

Extreme Access Flyer to Take Planetary Exploration Airborne | NASA
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/extreme-access-flyer-to-take-planetary-exploration-airborne

This is a prototype of Martian exploration drone "Extreme Access Flyer (Flyer)". It looks like quad co - op completely, but there is no propeller. Since Mars has a weak air as it is different from the Earth, research has progressed so that it can fly while controlling its attitude by gas injection rather than a propeller, as it will require an enormously large rotor to rise with a propeller.


On Mars there is a slope with an inclination angle of more than 30 degrees, such a steep slope can not be climbed by the explorer Rover, there are many areas that can not be investigated. Flyer is responsible for investigating such an unexplored area and is currently being developed at the Kennedy Space Center in NASA in Florida, USA. It is said that the use of liquid oxygen or water vapor is being studied for the gas to be injected.

And this is the latest model of Flyer. The large rod that had been stretched in four directions has been removed, and it has evolved into a simple shape.


The posture control test by gas injection is carried out in such a state that it is in the frame of a sphere having three axes.


The state of attitude control test can be confirmed in the following movie. Also note that the volume of gas at the time of gas injection is large.

Asteroid Prospector Flyer Test (Loud) - YouTube


It is expected that abundant Mars resources are expected in the shadow area where sunlight on the surface of the Mart does not reach, and it is considered that development of Flyer is indispensable for reaching this area. Flyer's flight test is scheduled to take place in an aircraft because it is easy to secure safety in a thin air environment. Flyer's control technology does not differ much from the technology of a commercially available drone, and thanks to the rapid evolution of Drone, it may be that Flyer will be put into Mars exploration relatively early.