The Future of Mars Helicopters

Ingenuity has shown that flying in the Martian atmosphere is possible, and that helicopters can provide critical insight and support to ground-based assets. Though Ingenuity was designed for five flights, to date, 66 flights have been completed with ~119 min of flight time and ~9 miles flown. What would it take for an Ingenuity-class helicopter to help return the first samples from Mars to Earth? To start, it would include the smallest robotic arm ever flown on Mars, more capable rotors, a driving system, and flight software upgrades. The Mars Sample Recovery Helicopters are in development to provide back up to the Perseverance rover as part of the Mars Sample Return mission concept. Come hear about the work required to quickly transition a helicopter design from a technology demonstrator to a flying, driving, sample collecting capable vehicle and the potential future of rotorcraft on Mars!

Speaker: Shannah Withrow, NASA Ames

Room: Planetarium