Nasa helicopter will take to the skies over Mars

SCIENTISTS at Nasa have announced that they are sending a helicopter to fly in the skies of Mars. The small, autonomous craft will travel with the agency’s Mars 2020 rover mission, currently scheduled to launch in July 2020, Nasa revealed yesterday.

The mission is designed to demonstrate the viability and potential of heavier-than-air vehicles on the Red Planet. “NASA has a proud history of firsts,” said Jim Bridenstine, Nasa administrator. “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.”

Nasa has spent over four years developing the helicopter. The finalised machine weighs in at little under four pounds, and its fuselage is slightly larger than a cricket ball. The helicopter will have twin, counter-rotating blades which will power through the thin Martian atmosphere at almost 3,000rpm – about 10 times the rate of a helicopter on Earth.

The helicopter has solar cells to charge its lithium-ion batteries, and a heating mechanism to insulate it from the cold Martian nights.

Controllers on Earth will command the Mars Helicopter, through a system of commands sent from the ground, rather than a real-time joystick.