The design of a Martian autonomous rotary wing vehicle (MARV) is described. MARV is a 50-kg gross takeoff mass, coaxial helicopter designed for Mars exploration. Powered by a fuel cell system, it carries a payload of 10.8 kg over a range of 25 km with an endurance of 39 min including hover capability for 1 min. MARV is designed in response to the Request For Proposal from NASA/Sikorsky for the Year 2000 American Helicopter Society student design competition. The design covers aerodynamic and structural design of rotor blades, vehicle power plant, fuselage and landing gear, control system, transmission, and vehicle lander communications. A detailed mechanism for autonomous deployment of the vehicle from the lander is also described. This preliminary design study indicates that controlled vertical ight on Mars is feasible with existing technology.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.