NASA Orders New Mars Airplane Prototype

MARSDAILY

The prototype plane is scheduled to make its first flight later this year with a deployment test in the upper reaches of the Earth's atmosphere.

Manassas - May 07, 2003
Aurora Flight Sciences Corp. has received an order from the NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., for a full-scale prototype of a proposed Mars airplane. The aircraft is being built as part of the Mars Scout Aerial Regional-Scale Environmental Survey (ARES) project of which Dr. Joel S. Levine is the Principal Investigator.

In 2002 Aurora and NASA Langley successfully demonstrated a half-scale version of the airplane in a series of low altitude and high altitude drop tests. The new airplane is to be a full-scale version, designed to demonstrate flight-weight components and actual aerodynamics.

The prototype plane is scheduled to make its first flight later this year with a deployment test in the upper reaches of the Earth's atmosphere.

"This demonstration is another important step on the road to flying the first airplane in another planetary atmosphere," said Aurora's President, Dr. John S. Langford. "We are excited to be a part of NASA's team in this historic endeavor."

The ARES team includes NASA Langley Research Center, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory and Lockheed Martin Astronautics, in addition to Aurora. The ARES team is one of four selected for a Phase A study as part of the NASA Office of Space Science Mars Scout program. The first Mars Scout mission is planned for launch in 2007 with an arrival at Mars in 2008.

Aurora Flight Sciences is a leading supplier of unmanned air vehicle designs, components, and flight services for government, industry, and academic clients. Aurora operates facilities in West Virginia, Virginia, and California, specializes in the design and production of high-altitude UAVs, and is a major supplier of composite structures for the Global Hawk and related air vehicles.

MARSDAILY

Nature's Flight System Could Be Key To Exploring Mars

Atlanta - Dec 3, 2001
One of the oldest forms of flight -- the flapping wings of insects -- may support a revolutionary new class of robotic flying machine uniquely suited for exploring a brave new world: the planet Mars.

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