Small robots will use rovers to recharge.
The NASA space agency oversees various projects to study the Red Planet, including Mars 2020 and a drilling rig. However, the new invention looks much more original. Marsopes - this is the name given to the prototype - are intended to replace rovers in the future in order to explore the most inaccessible corners of the fourth planet.
Flying machines are no larger than normal bees, but their wings will be the same as those of cicadas, which are about five centimeters long. According to experts, such proportions are necessary so that the devices can hover in the conditions of the Martian atmosphere. Chang-Kwon Kang, an engineer at the University of Alabama at Huntsville, wrote on the agency's blog:
“Our preliminary calculations show that a bee with cicada wings can hover in the Martian atmosphere. What's more, the power required for the marsopes will be reduced by the combination-wing structure and innovative recharging mechanism.”
C. Kang.
The robotic bees will be equipped with sensors and wireless communication devices, which will allow them to collect data both individually and in swarms. They will be able to communicate with each other and return to the rover to recharge.
Chang-Kwon Kang noted that marsopes are more profitable than conventional rovers for many reasons. First, the small size makes interplanetary transport easier. Secondly, they are much more reliable, since their simplified design makes them easier to test and prevent problems.
The American team of engineers will team up with specialists from Japan who have already built robots that fly in terrestrial conditions. Now the project is in the first phase, when scientists have to decide on the design of the wing of the "bees" and their weight. Subsequently, they will be engaged in optimization of maneuvers, sounding devices and test flights.
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Alexey Evglevsky