NASA will send a Helicopter to Mars in 2020

a reply to: RadioRobert
Now that does make sense.
When I had my little foray in a decompression chamber it was heliox.

Well, from the theory is, I guess, that since you have to scrub carbon dioxide anyway, why not just compress martian air, minus that, and add oxygen until you have a ~20% mix at ~1 atmosphere. Rough math says you get 63% nitrogen, 37% argon plus trace other gasses after scrubbing. Add oxygen to a 15% level around one atmosphere. So you're breathing something like 55% nitrogen, 30% argon, 15% oxygen. Easier and lighter than bringing canned air with you.

And we're making headway on scrubbers that are easily "cleaned" and reusable instead of having to replace them constantly. So no added weight (though perhaps you need more capacity than otherwise. I'm not sure it'd be a lot. It depends on how much new martian air you are adding to your hab atmosphere and how often).

My guess would be they try to go a little light on both of oxygen composition and pressure requirements, because every little bit helps. You need less structural strength for a hab at less than one atmosphere. And a little less oxygen is still liveable, if not comfortable, even at lower pressure. With less g, you probably exert less needing even less oxygen. Bonus, at 15% oxygen, it is difficult to make things catch fire. Kinda a big deal.

So you ship out with say 55% nitrogen, 30% argon, 15% oxygen mix sufficient for your transit. You can bring extra pure oxygen separately tanked for the martian hab -- or even better, extra water which you can use for everything including producing oxygen and hydrogen via electrolysis. And water rarely explodes in a massive fireball when exposed to heat and sparks the way pure oxygen tends to.

So they are looking at using the martian air to make filler for their atmospheric mix. Not looking at guys walking around without helmets and open windows in the hab.

originally posted by: Wide-Eyes
Water = Life.

Nope water offers the possibility of life, not a guarantee.

a reply to: gortex

They will tell us they did it and take some images and video shots of a Helicopter in front of a green screen. That's what they're going to do.

Cue DJI's new UAV "The red rover"

I wonder it would handle all that oxidized Iron that Mars calls "sand"?

originally posted by: looneylupinsrevenge

originally posted by: Wide-Eyes
Water = Life.

Nope water offers the possibility of life, not a guarantee.

Indeed !

Think the Red Sea ... right here on Earth.

😉

originally posted by: Timely

originally posted by: looneylupinsrevenge

originally posted by: Wide-Eyes
Water = Life.

Nope water offers the possibility of life, not a guarantee.

Indeed !

Think the Red Sea ... right here on Earth.

😉

The Red Sea has a surface area of roughly 438,000 km2 (169,100 mi2),[1][2] is about 2250 km (1398 mi) long and, at its widest point, 355 km (220.6 mi) wide. It has a maximum depth of 3,040 m (9,970 ft) in the central Suakin Trough,[3] and an average depth of 490 m (1,608 ft). However, there are also extensive shallow shelves, noted for their marine life and corals. The sea is the habitat of over 1,000 invertebrate species, and 200 soft and hard corals. It is the world's northernmost tropical sea.

You mean this Red Sea?

Emphasis mine.

Link

Or did you mean the "The Dead Sea"?

The Dead Sea (Hebrew: יָם הַמֶּלַח‬  Yam ha-Melah lit. Sea of Salt; Arabic: البحر الميت‎  Al-Bahr al-Mayyit[5]) is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and Palestine to the west. Its surface and shores are 430.5 metres (1,412 ft) below sea level,[4][6] Earth's lowest elevation on land. The Dead Sea is 304 m (997 ft) deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. With a salinity of 342 g/kg, or 34.2%, (in 2011), it is 9.6 times as salty as the ocean and one of the world's saltiest bodies of water.[7] This salinity makes for a harsh environment in which plants and animals cannot flourish, hence its name. The Dead Sea is 50 kilometres (31 mi) long and 15 kilometres (9 mi) wide at its widest point.[1]It lies in the Jordan Rift Valley, and its main tributary is the Jordan River.

It's a Salt Lake and it does not carve canyons.

Link

Try again...

originally posted by: looneylupinsrevenge

originally posted by: Wide-Eyes
Water = Life.

Nope water offers the possibility of life, not a guarantee.

We don't actually know that. Prove me wrong.

originally posted by: IlluminatiTechnician
a reply to: gortex

They will tell us they did it and take some images and video shots of a Helicopter in front of a green screen. That's what they're going to do.

Please..you would think being a CT type you would have investigated that YouTube Green Screen claim just a bit..

Nah, YouTube + dramatic music + random "awakened mind" opinions = irrefutable proof of a conspiracy

They already gave two rovers over there what else are they gonna spot?

I like this design. Counter-rotating blades, combined with a wide stance on the landing apparatus and a small payload centrally located. It should work awesomely.

I looked, and I cannot find one single flaw in what Phage has posted so far.

I kid, I kid... but yeah, everything he has said on the subject so far is spot on. The Martian atmosphere is thin, but the gravity is light and the payload is too. NASA has been working on this for years, and they have some pretty god aero engineers. If it can be done, they'll do it.

I think the primary reason they want an aerial drone is to assist with land-based robots. A rover has to move at a snail's pace so it doesn't out-drive the operator. If it encounters loose soil, for instance, it can't enter it until the operator knows what the soil conditions are. If it encounters a cliff, it has to wait until an operator tells it to go around. It takes quite a while between seeing what the drone sees and getting a signal back to it.

But an aerial drone can avoid such obstacles, as long as there is no dust storm brewing, and report back so drivers know what to expect where, and can let the rovers operate on a more autonomous basis.

TheRedneck

a reply to: gortex

Cool , what a perfect gift for us all to see in 2020
Im getting married in 2020 , so thanks nasa for the wedding present hahahah

so cool