The Future of Rotorcraft and other Aerial Vehicles for Mars Exploration

Young, Larry A.; Lee, Pascal; Aiken, Edwin W.; Briggs, G. A.; Pisanich, Greg; Withrow-Maser, Shannah; Cummings, Haley

doi:10.4050/f-0077-2021-16699

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…First studies were conducted in the early 2000s [8] with development at NASA continuing until in 2021 the Mars Helicopter (MH) Ingenuity ( 1.8 kg ) [9] completed the first successful powered flight on Mars [10]. Further investigations into Mars rotorcraft, manned and unmanned, show the potential rotorcraft can bring to Mars exploration while also highlighting the significant challenges posed by space travel and the Martian atmosphere [11,12]. These works also discuss the merit of transition configurations such as tailsitter and tiltwing aircraft for long range Martian exploration due to the improved efficiency of wingborne cruise flight.…”

Section: Abbreviationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of aerial vehicle configurations for high-range Mars missions

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As part of an envisioned autonomous swarm exploration mission in Valles Marineris on Mars a design investigation of a high-range scout UAV is performed in this work. Two VTOL configurations, a coaxial helicopter and a transition tailsitter, are examined to assess their suitability. A preliminary design framework using Python and the optimization framework OpenMDAO is created using the preliminary design software NDARC. To model the rotor performance, comprehensive analysis simulations are executed using CAMRAD II. Structural 2D-FEM beam models are created for the rotor blades and the wing for weight modeling. Design sizings are executed for operation in the extremely thin atmosphere and the mission performance for a scouting mission as part of the robotic Valles Marineris Explorer (VaMEx) swarm is examined. A behavioral model is created to evaluate the controllability of the configurations. The results for a mission with a cruise flight of 30 km and 1.4 kg of payload show that for such a mission the transition configuration does not offer advantages over a more conventional coaxial helicopter design. To understand design sensitivities and to evaluate the respective effects on vehicle performance parameter sweeps are conducted.

show abstract

Section: Abbreviationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of aerial vehicle configurations for high-range Mars missions

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Currently, the Dragonfly lander is the second multicopter vehicle under development to be sent into space following in Ingenuity's footsteps [59]. These types of planetary aerial vehicles (PAVs) have been proposed several times over the previous two decades for scientific missions and exploration of various planetary bodies in our solar system [60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67]. Following the success of Ingenuity and the awarding of the NASA New Frontiers funding to Dragonfly, a surge of renewed interest has developed around the capabilities that these vehicles bring to planetary science and exploration [68][69][70][71][72][73].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rotor Performance Predictions for Urban Air Mobility: Single vs. Coaxial Rigid Rotors

Cornelius,

Schmitz,

Palacios

et al. 2024

Aerospace

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This work details the development and validation of a methodology for high-resolution rotor models used in hybrid Blade Element Momentum Theory Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes (BEMT-URANS) CFD. The methodology is shown to accurately predict single and coaxial rotor performance in a fraction of the time required by conventional CFD methods. The methodology has three key features: (1) a high-resolution BEMT rotor model enabling large reductions in grid size, (2) a discretized set of momentum sources to interface between the BEMT rotor model and the structured URANS flow solver, and (3) leveraging of the first two features to enable highly parallelized GPU-accelerated multirotor CFD simulations. The hybrid approach retains high-fidelity rotor inflow, wake propagation, and rotor–rotor interactional effects at a several orders of magnitude lower computational cost compared to conventional blade-resolved CFD while retaining high accuracy on steady rotor performance metrics. Rotor performance predictions of thrust and torque for both single and coaxial rotor configurations are compared to test the data that the authors obtained at the NASA Langley 14- by 22-ft. Subsonic Tunnel Facility. Simulations were run with both fully turbulent and free-transition airfoil performance tables to quantify the associated uncertainty. Single rotor thrust and torque were predicted on average within 4%. Coaxial thrust and power were predicted within an average of 5%. A vortex ring state (VRS) shielding phenomenon for coaxial rotor systems is also presented and discussed. The results support that this hybrid BEMT-URANS CFD methodology can be highly parallelized on GPU machines to obtain accurate rotor performance predictions across the full spectrum of possible UAM flight conditions in a fraction of the time required by conventional higher-fidelity methods. This strategy can be used to rapidly create look-up tables with hundreds to thousands of flight conditions using a three-dimensional multirotor CFD for UAM.

show abstract

“…In some other tasks, the sUAS are required to physically interact with the environment with one or more robotic arms or endeffectors, which is generally categorized as aerial manipulation [9]. These tasks include grasping objects [10,11], actively collecting samples from the field [12][13][14], and even extraterrestrial exploration [15,16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gripping Aerial Topology Optimized Robot (GATOR)

Guibert

Chambers

Cao

et al. 2023

2023 IEEE Aerospace Conference

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper introduces the design, modeling, manufacturing, and testing of a Gripping Aerial Topology Optimized Robot (GATOR). The airframe of this unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is designed to be lightweight, structurally stiff, modular, and multi-functional. A Level-Set Topology Optimization (LSTO) method defines the external geometry of the frame, while the frame infill is controlled using a variable thickness latticing technique based on Finite Element Analysis (FEA) results. The UAV incorporates a soft robotic gripper, allowing the vehicle to collect delicate samples from the environment and perch for low-power use for extended periods. The bioinspired design and fabrication of a mountable soft robotic gripper are presented and the associated kinematics are derived for controls. To further decrease the weight of the designs a novel volume-changing material was introduced following careful characterization through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and tensile testing. The resulting platform leverages additive manufacturing using material extrusion technology and can be swiftly instrumented with propulsion and flight control systems. The presented modular design methodology can be applied to the rapid prototyping of a broad range of aerial platforms and lightweight structures.

show abstract

The Future of Rotorcraft and other Aerial Vehicles for Mars Exploration

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Evaluation of aerial vehicle configurations for high-range Mars missions

Evaluation of aerial vehicle configurations for high-range Mars missions

Rotor Performance Predictions for Urban Air Mobility: Single vs. Coaxial Rigid Rotors

Gripping Aerial Topology Optimized Robot (GATOR)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About