One hundred years have passed this month since the first motorized flight of the Wright brothers. How about sending planes, albeit without a pilot, to Mars, Venus or Saturn's moons?
From: Space.com Translation: Eli Ben David
Future planetary studies may draw on the rich history of aeronautical progress - here on the day - from the Wright brothers to centuries-old hot air balloons.
Space engineers are charting new ways to explore Mars and other worlds in our solar system through innovative research that is on its way to designing a hex robot (antenna) that can measure the depths of the atmosphere of Titan, Saturn's moons, and even cut through the clouds of Venus, or hover over planets, giants Gas, remote.
One of the ways currently being tested is the use of a hot air balloon.
First of all, balloons can lower planes down to the surface of the planet and vice versa, objects can be lifted into the air to different heights, such as lifting cameras or other remote sensing devices for scientific purposes. They can also be used multiple times in surveying the surface of the planet, at a greater speed and over many areas covering a more extensive territory than robots based on ground wandering.
An engineer who has embraced planetary balloon approaches is Jack Jones, chief engineer for "Advanced Mobility and Thermal Energy Technologies" at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.
JPL is actively studying three worlds ripe for balloon activity, a technology that can be labeled under the label "light matter": Venus, Mars, and one of Saturn's moons, Titan. Jones added.
For Venus, a controlled-altitude balloon, designed in stages is ideal enough. On Mars, helium balloons are at a fixed altitude, or will be replaced by altitude-controlled-solar-heated-balloons that move within the atmosphere. And for Titan, an airship filled with hydrogen or helium seems most promising, Jones says.
Polar summer
The area that Jones and his colleagues have focused on in recent years has been solar-heated balloons on Mars. Jones says hot-air balloons, similar to those flown by the French Montgolfier brothers in the 18th century, could provide a special, near-surface platform for long-range crossings of the Arctic regions. JPL engineers have developed an innovative hot-air ventilation system which for the first time enables a soft and precise, repeated landing of hot-air balloons.
On Mars, during the red planet's polar summer, such solar-powered balloons may float in the air for many weeks, perhaps even months. The atmospheric circulation of Mars will move the balloons around the polar region many times before the balloon crosses the planet's terminator.
Among the many missions: Balloon-borne objects hovering above Mars can survey the ground surface for biological signatures, even the underground layer of water-source rocks (aquifers) that may serve ecological niches for microbial life (bacteria) resistant to cold and harsh conditions, said G. a miracle
Toolbox of the research
"Planetary planes and air vehicles should be considered as another tool in the research toolbox," says Antony Colosse, a space engineer at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. "They are not intended to take part in studies intended for other types of research vehicles but to complete them" he added.
Coloza explained that aerial vehicles bring more benefit in connection with ground research, which is carried out using a variety of ground and lander robots as well as those moving in space orbit. All things considered, these aircraft provide a perfect set of planetary research capabilities. And "while robots and landers provide high-resolution data on a local scale, satellites provide low-resolution data on a planetary scale, while aircraft can provide high-resolution data on a regional scale" - says Coloza.
And there is another advantage in flying air vehicles: they also provide means for direct sampling of the planet's atmosphere, in special areas and at a variety of altitudes, says Coloza. Equipped with the appropriate sensors, such an air vehicle can study concentrations of biogenic gases. "If such concentrations are found, a future mission could send a ground robot or a lander to the site of interest to complete the investigation," Coloza said.
The technology to fly air vehicles on other planets is within reach, Coloza says. "There are some engineering issues and some technological developments are required, but it is no different or more complicated than what would be required for any other type of research vehicle" he adds. Because it's never been done before there's a perception of risk associated with a planetary plane mission, says Coloza. "Justified or not, it is imperative to reduce the sense of danger of a planetary plane expedition."
A risk factor reduction effort, for example, involves an aerial vehicle considered by NASA to be the flagship mission for the Mars Reconnaissance Program. A scale model of it was dropped from the air, high above the ground to demonstrate whether it could deploy itself and perform controlled flight. Although the experiment was proposed by NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, the Aerial Regional Scale Environmental Survey (ARES) was ultimately not selected.
Coloza was working on a futuristic robot in the form of an insect - a Martian research robot capable of answering long-range flights on Mars, he said. The conditions on Mars: a low-density atmosphere and a reduced gravitational force - present the possibility of producing a vehicle which, by flapping its wings, can generate lift similar in shape to an insect. This would allow the vehicle to slowly fly, land, take off and practically hover within the Martian atmosphere. Furthermore, this type of plane can be refueled by a rover (ground robot), which allows for a long flight on Mars.
“The robot-insect would not be practical for any other planetary environment. A combination of such planetary environmental conditions does not exist on any other world except Mars. The combination of a low-density atmosphere close to the surface of the ground, and a low gravitational force is a fundamental condition for the realization of the robot-insect idea" - said Coloza.
beat the wind
A solar-powered plane is a good example of the efficient use of environmental resources and renewable energy sources to offer a vehicle capable of staying in the air for a long time, the city of Kolusa. "Solar power will of course not work everywhere. Beyond Mars the intensity of the sun's rays diminishes and is too weak to propel an airplane. Therefore solar flights to the outer planets and their moons would not be feasible. That leaves us with Venus and Mars," he says. He notes that Venus provides a unique option. Thanks to its proximity to the sun, Venus is bathed in solar energy, but despite this, its face is covered by a thick layer of clouds. Add to this high wind speeds, and you get an unencouraging picture which makes the above pair of phenomena particularly difficult to operate a solar powered vehicle on Venus.
But on closer inspection, Coluza says, there is a region of Venus' atmosphere where a solar-powered vehicle can operate and move faster than the speed of the wind. "This ability to beat the winds plus the length of the day on Venus - a Venus day is equal to 234 Earth days - indicate that a solar-powered aircraft moving in the appropriate altitude range can perform a very long mission. Even though it won't be a 'one size fits all' vehicle, it will certainly be sufficient for the mission intended for the planet and in the altitude range" says Coloza.
An astronaut's dream
Now that it is close to its destination, the Cassini spacecraft will arrive at Saturn on July 1, 2004. Cassini will then begin its main 4-year mission in orbit around the ringed world. As part of its research mission Cassini is prepared to release the research satellite Huygens (after the Dutch mathematician-physicist-astronomer, Christian Huygens 1629-1695) to descend through the thick atmosphere of Saturn's moon, Titan. The satellite could hit what could be a liquid-hydrogen ocean.
But even before Cassini begins "service" at Saturn, scientists and engineers have begun testing a future spacecraft to track Huygens' expected landing site. "The best place to deploy an aerial vehicle - balloon, plane or helicopter - is Saturn's moon, Titan," says Jonathan Lunin, professor of planetary science and physics, head of the Department of Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Arizona in Tucson. In an interview with space.com, he added: "With low gravity, a high molecular weight compressed atmosphere (nitrogen), and low temperatures, this should be every astronaut's dream. Indeed, such a vehicle may be the best solution for exploring Titan in depth and following up on the Cassini-Huygens discoveries."
Any post-Cassini Titan study using airships and helicopters seems feasible, says Ralph Lorenz, a space scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratories at the University of Arizona.
Most likely, the research satellites that will follow will not study every object discovered by Cassini, Lorenz thinks, but they will serve as a communication node with NASA and transmit data collected by mobile platforms that fly by Titan, even like the vehicles that were used at the time in the conditions of the lunar night.
Airships to Titan
"Although the idea of Titan's helicopters and planes would be feasible - and the radar detection, earlier this year, indicating lakes of ethane (ethane = [in chemistry: a colorless and odorless gas]) makes the mission of hovering platforms more attractive - the leading concept would probably be a ship Air", says Lorenz.
The airship will move slowly around the moon due to Titan's low temperature. In order to stay in flight mode for as long as possible, it should be lightened by throwing a flywheel when necessary (flywheel = load to stabilize a ship). One idea, Lorentz thinks, is stabilization weights organized in capsules, which can be disposed of by launching them to Titan's surface.
There is no doubt that there will be a need to transmit sdg gigabytes of Titan research data, says Lorenz. Therefore, it will be necessary to equip the floating platform with an impressive array of delicate and lightweight scientific equipment.
Chemical tests of the soil should be performed. A small magnetometer can help draw conclusions about Titan's interior. Meteorological sensing equipment should also come in handy, even if Saturn's moon boasts a thick atmosphere. It is known about the phenomenon of volatile clouds (inversion - like the one that interferes with the dissipation of smog over polluted areas of the earth, the site's editor's note.), says Lorenz, which includes the possibility of "methane rain" on the world shrouded in secrecy. Finally, a future Titan explorer might also carry with it subsurface radar-ultrasonic equipment, and even a seismological device, he muses.
XNUMXD movement
To advance the study of other worlds, XNUMXD mobility is needed, says Larry Young of the Rotocraft Division at NASA's Ames Research Center in Mott Field, California. He points to the fact that Titan is the only moon with a solid atmosphere, one that can support a vehicle with rotary lift. Yang also explored what type of rotorcraft, such as a helicopter and a vertical rotor, could be developed for aerial studies of Venus, Mars and Titan, "Such mobility of an aerial research vehicle would allow the examination of ground features of interest that are mostly inaccessible by any other means." ".
As for the outer gas giants, Yang says, an aerial research vehicle could use their mobility to probe the atmospheric chemistry and meteorology in depth that cannot be obtained by other means, he said.
"Nevertheless, it is essential to ensure that the air vehicles proposed in the research mission are not only considered technology displays but the best possible tools for the mission goals for which they are designed. At the same time, it will be said below that the development of aerial research platforms will have a huge technological impact in the context of nearby fields, including, for example, advantages of power systems, micro-sensors and vehicle automation," Yang explains.
At NASA's Ames Center, both fixed-wing and vertical-lift air vehicles (for planetary research) are tested and studied. Among the armies of designs: a rotary-plane for Mars, a research satellite with rotating wings and a semi-floating hybrid airship for Venus. Also a robot-hover for the outer gas giants.
Advancing scientific goals
In recent years, talk of planetary aerial research has focused on planes or balloons to Mars. However, Yang is quick to point out that not just one type of research vehicle will be built that can handle all scientific objectives, "Certain types of vehicle will be better for a certain mission and its scientific objectives. Multiple missions using multiple types of vehicle may be required to conduct comprehensive research dictated by the planetary science community," said Young.
Young notes that there are many planetary bodies in our solar system, in addition to Mars, where aerial research platforms could be a big advantage. Scientific exploration of Venus, Titan, and the outer gas giants may all benefit from the use of these platforms.
"In any case, the planetary environment and anticipated science issues must be factored into the concept of design decisions," Young concluded.
