[meteorite-list] Helicopter Could be 'Scout' for Mars Rovers

[Ron Baalke]

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4457

Helicopter Could be 'Scout' for Mars Rovers
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
January 22, 2015

Getting around on Mars is tricky business. Each NASA rover has delivered 
a wealth of information about the history and composition of the Red Planet, 
but a rover's vision is limited by the view of onboard cameras, and images 
from spacecraft orbiting Mars are the only other clues to where to drive 
it. To have a better sense of where to go and what's worth studying on 
Mars, it could be useful to have a low-flying scout.

Enter the Mars Helicopter, a proposed add-on to Mars rovers of the future 
that could potentially triple the distance these vehicles currently drive 
in a Martian day, and deliver a new level of visual information for choosing 
which sites to explore.

The helicopter would fly ahead of the rover almost every day, checking 
out various possible points of interest and helping engineers back on 
Earth plan the best driving route.

Scientists could also use the helicopter images to look for features for 
the rover to study in further detail. Another part of the helicopter's 
job would be to check out the best places for the rover to collect key 
samples and rocks for a cache, which a next-generation rover could pick 
up later.

The vehicle is envisioned to weigh 2.2 pounds (1 kilogram) and measure 
3.6 feet (1.1 meters) across from the tip of one blade to the other. The 
prototype body looks like a medium-size cubic tissue box.

The current design is a proof-of-concept technology demonstration that 
has been tested at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.


Media Contact

Elizabeth Landau
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-6425
elizabeth.landau at jpl.nasa.gov 

2015-031