Scientists design plane, similar to an albatross, that could one day be used on a mission to Mars

Since NASA launched the Ingenuity helicopter on the surface of Mars the April 19, 2021this went on to become the first powered aircraft to be used for a space mission.

Thirty-nine seconds of flight was enough to redefine exploration to other planets. They also managed to inspire engineers in this field to design flying structures, structures that could be able to fly over the Martian terrain of Mars for much longer.

In this sense, a group of engineers from the University of Arizona took the initiative to design a unpowered gliderwith the purpose of potentially carrying out its flight on Mars, taking advantage of the wind generated on this planet to remain in the sky for days.

It is worth mentioning the difficulty present in the fact of flying an airplane on the red planet, due to the light that is the atmosphere in this respect to that of the Earth.

In that sense, the air on Mars has a density lower than that of Earth (-1%), hence the challenge that sustaining flight represents for an airplane in the conditions offered by the atmosphere on this planet is understandable.

In the case of the Ingenuity, it weighs 1.5 kilos, while its design incorporated two carbon fiber rotors whose mechanics made them rotate much faster than those present in a conventional helicopter.

However, the Ingenuity had the disadvantage that the solar panels installed on its structure could only obtain enough charge to allow a 90 second flight.

An albatross-like design has been proposed for this glider, which will be favorable in terms of staying aloft for days.

Added to this, the plane would describe in its flight an S-shaped pattern (just like that of the albatross when it makes its flight) that would give it greater speed.

Despite having a weight of 5 kiloswhich exceeds that of the Ingenuity, this glider of 3 meters in length is light, so that you may be able to take advantage of the vertical winds to move in the Martian sky without much effort.

And if these conditions are not present, the glider might still be able to fly in a slight ascending angle to lower areas, where there are slow winds, so that you can stay in a position that allows you to later rotate 180 degrees towards faster winds that are detected in higher areas.

This action would be repeated constantly, so that the plane would keep going up and down in a serpentine line that would allow it to spend days in the air. Also, the team contemplates the possibility of attach a blimp to the plane that can then take it into the upper atmosphere.