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If you just can\u2019t wait for NASA\u2019s new Mars helicopters to get to work, you can now see what they would look like in action. This week, the agency released an artist\u2019s concept of the SkyFall aircrafts flying over the red planet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
SkyFall is set to launch aboard NASA\u2019s Space Reactor-1 Freedom in late 2028. NASA will use what it describes as a \u201cdaring mid-air deployment\u201d to deliver three helicopters equipped with advanced instruments for subsurface and infrared surface mapping, visible light imagery, temperature monitoring, and much more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The new image shows the three helicopters scanning the Martian surface. According to a statement from NASA, the green frequency waves emanating from the antennae depict the collection of subsurface radar data while the red beams depict the collection of near-infrared imagery data from crushed rock and dirt and other surfaces.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The antennas you see in the image needed a lot of work to become a reality. The helicopters will be fitted with a unique flexible antenna covered in polyester and Vectran, a high-performance manufactured fiber used to make landing airbags for Mars rovers. The design, which recently cleared a round of testing at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is made to allow the helicopters to fly close enough to the ground without interfering with landing or breaking on impact.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only way to detect shallow subsurface ice remotely is to fly close to the ground,\u201d explained Adrian Tang, SkyFall\u2019s ground-penetrating radar lead instrument scientist. \u201cBy flying low and slow, a SkyFall helicopter could capture radar images that resolve the fine layering where dry soil gives way to ice, detecting its presence and mapping its extent.\u201d<\/p>\n
While NASA\u2019s first autonomous Mars helicopter Ingenuity needed to use the Perseverance rover as a relay station, SkyFall can independently transmit information to spacecraft orbiting Mars.<\/p>\n
Now, we just need to wait to see what\u2019s under the Martian surface.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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