NASA announced on May 11 that it will send a small helicopter to Mars as part of the US space agency’s 2020 mission to place a next-generation rover on the Martian surface, marking the first time such an aircraft will be used on another world.
The remote-controlled Mars Helicopter, designed to take flight in the thin Martian atmosphere with twin counter-rotating blades, weighs about 1.8kg, with a fuselage the size of a softball, NASA said. Its blades will spin at almost 3,000 rpm, roughly 10 times the rate employed by helicopters on Earth.
“The altitude record for a helicopter flying here on Earth is about 12,200m. The atmosphere of Mars is only 1 percent that of Earth, so when our helicopter is on the Martian surface, it’s already at the Earth equivalent of 30,480m up,” Mimi Aung, the Mars Helicopter project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a statement.
Photo: EPA
照片:歐新社
NASA officials said the rotorcraft will reach the Red Planet’s surface attached to the car-sized rover. After placing the helicopter on the ground, the rover will be directed to drive to a safe distance to relay commands. Controllers on Earth will command the helicopter to take its first autonomous flight after its batteries are charged and tests are conducted, NASA said.
“The idea of a helicopter flying the skies of another planet is thrilling,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement. The helicopter is intended to demonstrate the viability and usefulness of such aircraft on Mars, NASA said, with potential roles as a low-flying scout or to reach locations inaccessible from the ground.
NASA said it plans a 30-day flight test period that will include up to five flights, starting with a short vertical jaunt to hover for about 30 seconds at an altitude of 3m and progressing to flight distances up to a few hundred meters and durations up to 90 seconds. The helicopter contains solar cells to charge its lithium-ion batteries and a heating mechanism to keep it warm during frigid nights.
The Mars 2020 rover mission is scheduled to launch in July 2020 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and reach Mars in February 2021. The rover is designed to carry out geological studies and ascertain the habitability of the Martian environment, NASA said.
(Reuters)
美國國家航空暨太空總署於五月十一日宣布,他們將會把一台小型直升機送上火星,這是該太空機構二○二○年在火星表面部署新世代探測車任務的一部分,也標誌著這類飛行器首次被用於地球外的另一個世界。
美國太空總署表示,這台遙控式火星直升機被設計為能在稀薄的火星大氣層中起降,配有一對反向旋轉的旋翼,重約一‧八公斤,機身僅有一顆壘球大小。該直升機旋翼的轉速幾乎能達到每分鐘三千轉,約為地球上直升機使用轉速的十倍。
美國太空總署噴射推進實驗室的火星直升機計畫主管翁咪咪(音譯)在聲明中指出:「地球上直升機飛行的高度紀錄為約為一萬兩千兩百公尺。火星的大氣層厚度只有地球的百分之一,所以當我們的直升機在火星表面時,就已經是等同於地球上三萬零四百八十公尺的高度。」
美國太空總署官員解釋,這台旋翼飛行器將會搭載於一台車輛大小的探測車上,抵達紅色行星表面。探測車將直升機放置在地面後,就會被引導開到安全距離之外來發號施令。美國太空總署表示,待電池充飽並進行試驗後,地球上的控制人員就會指揮這台直升機進行第一次自主飛行。
美國太空總署署長吉姆‧布萊登斯坦在聲明中表示:「讓直升機在另一個星球的天空上翱翔是個讓人興奮的想法。」美國太空總署則指出,這台直升機是用於展示這類飛行器在火星上的獨立行動能力與實用性,伴隨著低空偵查的潛在功能,或是能夠到達從地面上無法企及的地點。
美國太空總署表示,他們計畫了一段為期三十天的測試期,其中包含多達五次的飛行測試,首先會是一段垂直的短程飛行,將在三公尺的高度盤旋約三十秒,接著逐漸把飛行距離拉長到數百公尺,飛行時間增加到九十秒。這台直升機附載太陽能面板,能為機身的鋰離子電池充電,也配備加熱機制,能夠在酷寒的夜間維持機身溫度。
這項火星二○二○探測車任務預計將於二○二○年七月自佛羅里達州的卡納維爾角空軍基地發射,並於二○二一年二月到達火星。美國太空總署表示,這次任務的探測車被設計用來進行地質學研究,並查明火星環境對人類的可居住性。
(台北時報章厚明編譯)
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