The National Aeronautical and Space Administration Center adds a new flavor to its next Mars 2020 rover mission. The NASA is planning to accompany the Mars 2020 rover mission with a small, autonomous helicopter. The official announcement came forwards from the NASA’s desk on May 11, 2018.
The craft is scheduled to undergo a test trial. Once it reaches the Red Planet, it will be tested to demonstrate the travel viability above the surface of the Mars. The trial is planned as a thirty-day test campaign.
Jim Bridenstine in a statement conveyed, “The idea of a helicopter flying the skies of another planet is thrilling. The Mars Helicopter holds much promise for our future science, discovery and exploration missions to Mars.” Jim Bridenstine is an administrator at the National Aeronautical and Space Administration.
The development of the Mar’s helicopter began in the year 2013. It is being done at the NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California. It has a size of approximately 1.8 kilograms. It has a body that resembles a softball. These specifications come from the headquarters of the NASA. The Mar’s helicopter is accompanied with solar cells. The solar cells are used for charging up the vehicle in the sunlight. Also, it carries a heating system to safeguard it form the cold nights of the Red Planet.
The Mar’s helicopter carries twin blades, which whirls about ten times the blades of the aircraft on the Earth’s surface. The rate of blade whirling is three thousand rpm.
Mars 2020 is scheduled for launch in 2020 in the month of July. The rocket, which will accomplish the mission, is named as United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket. The launch will take place at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The mission is predicted to reach Mars in February 2021.
The rover has six-wheels and is engineered to search for the habitable environments on the Martian surface. It will also include the search for the places that hosts or ever hosted the microflora. The Red Planet will be examined through the eyes of twenty-three cameras. Also, it carries a microphone and drill to collect samples.
We can wait for what the Mars 2020 mission will explore the Red Planet.
