Development of a Mars airplane entry, descent, and flight trajectory

Murray, James E.; Tartabini, Paul V.

doi:10.2514/6.2001-839

Cited by 22 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…Early in the 1970s, NASA built and tested the Mini-Sniffer [54], which had a wingspan of 6.7 m. The Sky-Sailor [45,52] is an ultra-lightweight solar autonomous model aircraft designed by the Autonomous System Lab of EPFL under a contract with ESA, for scientific missions to Mars. The NUDT also developed a prototype solar aircraft for Mars exploration (Figure 12).…”

Section: Minimum Gradient and Environmental Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Albatross-Like Utilization of Wind Gradient for Unpowered Flight of Fixed-Wing Aircraft

2017

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Abstract:The endurance of an aircraft can be considerably extended by its exploitation of the hidden energy of a wind gradient, as an albatross does. The process is referred to as dynamic soaring and there are two methods for its implementation, namely, sustainable climbing and the Rayleigh cycle. In this study, the criterion for sustainable climbing was determined, and a bio-inspired method for implementing the Rayleigh cycle in a shear wind was developed. The determined sustainable climbing criterion promises to facilitate the development of an unpowered aircraft and the choice of a more appropriate soaring environment, as was demonstrated in this study. The criterion consists of three factors, namely, the environment, aerodynamics, and wing loading. We develop an intuitive explanation of the Raleigh cycle and analyze the energy mechanics of utilizing a wind gradient in unpowered flight. The energy harvest boundary and extreme power point were determined and used to design a simple bio-inspired guidance strategy for implementing the Rayleigh cycle. The proposed strategy, which involves the tuning of a single parameter, can be easily implemented in real-time applications. In the results and discussions, the effects of each factor on climbing performance are examined and the sensitivity of the aircraft factor is discussed using five examples. Experimental MATLAB simulations of the proposed strategy and the comparison of the results with those of Gauss Pseudospectral Optimization Software confirm the feasibility of the proposed strategy.

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Section: Minimum Gradient and Environmental Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Albatross-Like Utilization of Wind Gradient for Unpowered Flight of Fixed-Wing Aircraft

2017

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“…One potential application directing aspects of the development of inflatable/rigidizable wing technology is use on a "Mars Airplane." [8,9,10,11] Current plans for Mars exploration include smaller Scout missions to expand the explored area. One concept under consideration is an unmanned spacecraft launched to Mars to release an aircraft designed to fly an exploratory mission over a wider range than a lander/rover and from a closer distance than an orbiter.…”

Section: Inflatable Wings At University Of Kentuckymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For the distributed loading tip deflection measurements, the wing was set-up in a test stand upside down. Weight was applied on the surface in three different loading patterns and at four different internal pressures ranging from 69 to 172 kPa (10,15,20, and 25 psi). The loading configurations simulated flight loads under approximately 1, 2, and 2.5 g conditions.…”

Section: Wing Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and Flight Testing of Inflatable Wings with Wing Warping

Jacob

Simpson

2005

SAE Technical Paper Series

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The paper presents work on testing of inflatable wings for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Inflatable wing history and recent research is discussed. Design and construction of inflatable wings is then covered, along with ground and flight testing. Discussions include predictions and correlations of the forces required to warp (twist) the wings to a particular shape and the aerodynamic forces generated by that shape change. The focus is on characterizing the deformation of the wings and development of a model to accurately predict deformation. Relations between wing stiffness and internal pressure and the impact of external loads are presented. Mechanical manipulation of the wing shape on a test vehicle is shown to be an effective means of roll control. Possible benefits to aerodynamic efficiency are also discussed.

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“…As a result, the dynamic characteristics are distinct due to the uncertain and variable flight conditions. Therefore, it is challenging to build the accurate mathematical model and to design the efficient controller for Mars airplane in order to complete a series of the anticipated tasks [6]. Accordingly, some new control theories are necessary to study and apply for designing the control system with rapid response and strong robustness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Robust adaptive control for a longitudinal model of mars airplane

Liu

Yao

2013

2013 10th IEEE International Conference on Control and Automation (ICCA)

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In recent years, Mars airplane has been developed as a complete science-focused mission for the deep space exploration. However, the airplane flying in the complicated Mars environments must address some difficult issues that are not encountered for the traditional vehicles on earth. As a result, these issues, which need to be solved, present a large design challenge for Mars airplane. In this paper, the robust adaptive control methods for Mar airplane are put forwards in order to guarantee the flight stability and improve the system robustness under the uncertain flight conditions. First, a longitudinal model of Mars airplane is established according to the different flight altitudes and velocities. Then the dynamic characteristics of this model are analyzed so as to determine the control goals. Afterwards, the robust adaptive control system is designed based on the differential geometry theory and the backstepping method such that the proposed control law can meet the anticipated mission demands. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed control systems is verified by using the numerical simulation, and the corresponding results show the flight stability and the track performance can be guaranteed for Mars airplane.

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Development of a Mars airplane entry, descent, and flight trajectory

Cited by 22 publications

References 1 publication

Albatross-Like Utilization of Wind Gradient for Unpowered Flight of Fixed-Wing Aircraft

Albatross-Like Utilization of Wind Gradient for Unpowered Flight of Fixed-Wing Aircraft

Design and Flight Testing of Inflatable Wings with Wing Warping

Robust adaptive control for a longitudinal model of mars airplane

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