mars drones???

So we have drones and we can send equipment to mars like the curiosity rover, so why not send a drone on the mission to mars?

The drone could give us a detailed view of mars like we have with Google Earth.

I know we have google mars plugin , but the details are not the same.

reply to post by interupt42


The atmosphere on Mars is not the same as on Earth, there is much less air resistance, so I'm not even sure what would fly here, would fly there.

I just found this, which seems to be along the lines of having a flying machine on Mars

wingsovermars.arc.nasa.gov...

Hmm, But still, there can be up to 21 minutes communication lag between here and Mars, and flying something remotely would require some sort of on the 'fly' (no pun intended) control ability. You can roll around pretty safely, if you hit a rock and the program says to keep going forward, in time you can correct this. But if the remote controlled device crashes and sustains mechanical damage, it's over.

Look at what we can do today given how our technology started. We'll get to it one day. Mars will be mapped, compartmentalised, colonised, mined, delpeted etc etc.. we're in no rush!

reply to post by interupt42


flying with a ten minute odd delay could cause a number of problems i would have thought ?

Well, I'd rather have drones flying around Mars than having them flying overhead spying on us.

There would be No need for a flying drone on Mars, thats when a satellite is used, Drones are being used on Mars though, they just have wheels on them and experiment on rocks and other mineral gathering

reply to post by darknewt


I think we could work around the delays.. They could be autonomous or preplanned missions could be uploaded on a daily basis based on conditions.

Originally posted by Glassbender777
There would be No need for a flying drone on Mars, thats when a satellite is used, Drones are being used on Mars though, they just have wheels on them and experiment on rocks and other mineral gathering

The existing Satellites don't have the detail quality that a plane would give. That is why Google uses planes to map areas in finer details. The rovers can't cover as much area nor can they get into certain parts. However, the rovers could be utilized like google utilizes cars to provide street views.

Originally posted by rickymouse
Well, I'd rather have drones flying around Mars than having them flying overhead spying on us.

They will probably have the same likely hood of finding intelligent lifeforms in mars.

There are already plans to put flying drones on Mars. They have to be purpose built however for the conditions of transport, arrival, and then the environment itself.

Originally posted by Foxe
There are already plans to put flying drones on Mars. They have to be purpose built however for the conditions of transport, arrival, and then the environment itself.

Thanks, you are correct. I wasn't aware of any plans, but a quick google search and I found this.
news.discovery.com...

I guess they beat me to the idea?

However, I don't see any scheduled missions for it? do you have any additional information of the plans?
www.nasa.gov...

There is a sufficient atmosphere on Mars for an electric drone to fly from our rover there.

You can look at the NASA images of little tornadoes going across the Martian atmosphere. Aerial flight is possible, especially with our new Lipo battery technology and brushless electric motors now powering very powerful rc aircraft/helicopters.....cheaply.

Nasa would have blundered if they didn't include a drone on the latest rover.

reply to post by interupt42


How do you expect mankind to know intelligent life when they find it? You need intelligence to recognize intelligence. That's something an old tree once told me.

reply to post by Pervius


Maybe the rover can buy a drone from the martians up there with the money they sent with it.

I wonder if they have thought about using a balloon? Instead of a plane send a blimp. It could fly as long as it had Helium. Or risk it and try Hydrogen. It shouldn't pull a Hindenburg since there is no Oxygen to combust with. And equipped with the latest computer and camera technology I could see it floating along for quite a while as a low altitude satellite at 10 to 20 thousand feet.

And if it found something "interesting" it could carry a small rover and drop it on the target.

Originally posted by ntech
I wonder if they have thought about using a balloon? Instead of a plane send a blimp. It could fly as long as it had Helium. Or risk it and try Hydrogen. It shouldn't pull a Hindenburg since there is no Oxygen to combust with. And equipped with the latest computer and camera technology I could see it floating along for quite a while as a low altitude satellite at 10 to 20 thousand feet.

And if it found something "interesting" it could carry a small rover and drop it on the target.

edit on 25-8-2012 by ntech because: (no reason given)

Looks like it, I also came across another link where they were talking about a balloon solution for mars, but I can't find it now.
www.ilcdover.com...

anything built to fly on mars would have to be specially designed. atmospheric pressure on mars is way way way below that of earth. gale force winds would not even knock you over on mars. as well, they'd have to be designed to withstand sand.....lots and lots and lots and lots of it. sand storms that last months and cover half the planet.

i think it will be a long while before we actually see any flying drones on mars.

Originally posted by interupt42
Thanks, you are correct. I wasn't aware of any plans, but a quick google search and I found this.
news.discovery.com...

That will fly on Mars.

Originally posted by Pervius
There is a sufficient atmosphere on Mars for an electric drone to fly from our rover there.

You can look at the NASA images of little tornadoes going across the Martian atmosphere. Aerial flight is possible, especially with our new Lipo battery technology and brushless electric motors now powering very powerful rc aircraft/helicopters.....cheaply.

Nasa would have blundered if they didn't include a drone on the latest rover.

The plane going 500mph powered by a rocket motor is certainly possible in Mars atmosphere.

But I think your suggestion that an electric RC helicopter will fly in the thin Martian atmosphere is wrong, at least nothing like the ones we have on Earth. The atmosphere on Mars is only 1% that on Earth. That's fine for a rocket-powered plane going 500mph, but it's not enough for a RC helicopter.