In a first, NASA tests 'next-gen' Mars helicopters designs on two different planets | WATCH
Space.com, the NASA is planning to incorporate helicopter-like drones into future Mars missions. These are expected to be "built with designs more robust than their predecessor — which has completed 66 flights, and counting". The NASA said a new rotor, that could be used with next-generation Mars helicopters, was tested at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on September 15 this year.
"The next-generation carbon fiber rotor blades being tested on Earth are almost 4 inches (more than 10 centimeters) longer than Ingenuity’s, with greater strength and a different design," NASA JPL said in its report. Over three weeks, the carbon-fiber blades were spun up at ever-higher speeds and greater pitch angles to see if they would remain intact as their tips approached supersonic speeds. As part the test, the blades were spun up to 3,500 rpm, which is 750 revolutions per minute faster than the Ingenuity blades have gone.
It spun at near-supersonic speeds (0.95 Mach). "Longer and stronger than those used on the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, the carbon-fiber blades reached near-supersonic speeds during testing," the space agency said. After the completion of the test, Tyler Del Sesto, Sample Recovery Helicopter deputy test conductor at JPL, said, "These more efficient blades are now more than a hypothetical exercise.
They are ready to fly." The US space agency believes that these blades could enable bigger, more capable Mars helicopters. "The challenge is, as the blade tips approach supersonic speeds, vibration-causing turbulence can quickly get out of hand," it added. While the “next-generation carbon fiber rotor blades" were tested on Earth, Ingenuity, the Mars helicopter, flew its 59th flight across the Martian
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