Phase II Final Report - NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts

Planetary Exploration Using Biomimetics
An Entomopter for Flight on Mars
Lift is 0 at the beginning of the stroke.
Increases and achieves its extreme value
in the second half of the downstroke.
Lift
Begins to lessen at the end of the downstroke.
Becomes negative throughout the
upstroke.
Figure 1-3: Insect Wing Lift-generation
An Entomopter on Mars, with an approximate 1-meter wingspan, would be operating with a
Reynolds number similar to that of terrestrial insects. Flight within the Mars environment can
take advantage of the lift-producing mechanisms of insects with a vehicle of significant size and
operating close to the surface. This combination of physics and environmental conditions may
lead to an elegant way of producing an aircraft to fly on Mars. Mars has an additional advantage
in that the gravitational force is a third of that on Earth. This reduced gravity enables thinner,
lighter structures to be used, which can be an important factor in the feasibility of this concept.
If achievable, an Entomopter on Mars would have the ability to take off, land, and hover--a significant
mission enhancement over conventional aircraft. This flight capability is a consequence
of the flapping wing flight mode and the ability to control the enormous lift-generating capacity
of the vortex described above.
1.1 History of Mars Flight
Mars has been a target of scientific exploration for more than twenty-five years. Most of this
exploration has taken place using orbiting spacecraft or landers. Orbiters offer the ability to
image large areas over an extended period of time, but are limited in their resolution. Landers
can handle surface and atmospheric sampling, but are limited to the immediate landing site.
Mobility is the key to expanding the scientific knowledge of Mars. The Pathfinder/Sojourner
mission offered a new opportunity in that it was the first time that an autonomous mobile platform
could be used for exploration. This allowed scientists the freedom to explore the surrounding
terrain, maneuver to interesting sites, and perform an analysis of soil and rock composition
over a broader area. In short, the scientific community has many more options. However, the
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Phase II Final Report