A tiny aircraft could be plying Mars' skies less than a decade from now.
NASA researchers are developing a glider, called Preliminary Research Aerodynamic Design to Land on Mars (Prandtl-m), for possible inclusion on a Mars rover mission in the 2022-2024 time frame.
Prandtl-m would weigh a maximum of 2.6 lbs. (1.2 kilograms) here on Earth (1 lb., or 0.45 kg, in Mars' reduced-gravity environment) and feature a wingspan of just 24 inches (61 centimeters), project team members said. The craft would fold up to fit inside a 3U cubesat — a spacecraft about the size of a loaf of bread — that would tag along with the rover. Read more...
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