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

Chapter 2.0 Entomopter Configuration and Operation
2.4 Environmental Conditions for Flight on Mars
2.4 Environmental Conditions for Flight on Mars
The Mars environment is very different form that here on Earth. Therefore, there are issues and
concerns associated with operating a vehicle in this environment that are not encountered on
Earth. Mars has an atmosphere (Figure 2-6), but it is very thin. Near the surface of Mars, the
atmospheric density is similar to the density of Earth’s atmosphere at 30 km. The atmosphere is
made up almost entirely of carbon dioxide. The temperature on Mars is on average much colder
than on Earth. Although at certain times of the year and at certain locations the temperature will
rise above freezing, temperatures are well below the freezing point of water most of the time.
Figure 2-6: Image of Mars Atmosphere Taken From Pathfinder Lander
The Entomopter and its accompanying system design will in a large part be dictated by environmental
conditions on Mars. In fact, the viability of the concept is based on the thin atmosphere:
Because of this thin atmosphere, the Entomopter can take advantage of the lift-generating mechanisms
that insects use to fly here on Earth. The ability to generate lift in this fashion is Reynolds
number based. Therefore, having a very low atmospheric density enables a vehicle with an
approximate 1 m wingspan to fly in within the same Reynolds number regime (and therefore
generate lift in the same manner) as small insects on Earth. Also, the lower gravity on Mars
means that the amount of lift needed to pick up a given amount of mass is less than it would be
on Earth. This combination of low atmospheric density (near the surface) and lower gravity is
what makes this concept feasible.
Other environmental characteristics important to the system design include surface temperature,
atmospheric dust, solar intensity, soil and atmospheric composition, and terrain characteristics
(Figure 2-7 and Figure 2-8). These factors influence just about every aspect of the Entomopter
and its associated system design. Examples include what type of fuel the Entomopter will use,
whether it will be manufactured on site or brought from Earth, what type of power system is
31