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- Written by: NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
The Mars Helicopter is a technology demonstration for the Mars 2020 rover mission, intended to show the feasibility and utility of using helicopters for Mars exploration.
This technology may enable future missions to perform reconnaissance or independent science, and to access terrain not reachable by rovers and astronauts.
When NASA’s next Mars rover sets out for the Red Planet in 2020, it will bring along a passenger. Nestled under the belly of the rover, the Mars Helicopter will be on a mission to notch a “first” for humankind: flying a helicopter on another planet.
By sending the helicopter to Mars as a technology demonstration, NASA aims to expand its exploration capabilities to include an aerial dimension, potentially opening new areas to exploration, and enabling faster reconnaissance for the benefit of future rovers or astronauts.
With a four-foot rotor and a weight of only four lbs, the Mars Helicopter’s unique design is driven by the harsh realities of the Mars environment.
The Martian atmosphere is extremely thin and cold; at only 1 to 2 percent, the density of sea-level air and with temperatures down to -130˚ F, it resembles Earth’s atmosphere at 100,000 feet – an altitude far beyond the capabilities of regular helicopters.
To make the Mars Helicopter a reality, researchers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA Ames Research Center, NASA Langley Research Center and AeroVironment Inc., worked together over several years to understand the unique challenges of flying on Mars, and to develop a viable vehicle design that is part aircraft and part spacecraft.
A crucial aspect of the design is to keep the mass as low as possible, but to carry enough power and energy to sustain the helicopter during flight. Recent technological advances in areas such as batteries and solar cells, miniaturized sensors and computers, and lightweight materials are key to achieving this goal.
Many components of the Mars Helicopter were developed for the commercial cell phone and drone markets. They were qualified for the Mars Helicopter mission through testing in Mars-like temperatures and by subjecting them to radiation levels that would be experienced in space.
The Mars Helicopter is designed to operate independently on Mars, performing flights of about 90 s in duration at a height of 16 feet. The two rotors spin in opposite directions at approximately 2500 revolutions per minute.
Between flights, the helicopter recharges its batteries using an onboard solar panel. A 12-Megapixel camera takes pictures during flight, which are beamed back to the rover for relay to Earth. During the cold Martian nights, the batteries and sensitive electronics are kept warm inside a heated and insulated fuselage.
During flight the helicopter must navigate with full autonomy, unassisted by humans and without GPS or other navigation aids.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory researchers developed a vision-based navigation system for the helicopter, which analyzes camera images and combines the information with measurements from an inertial measurement unit and an altimeter to keep track of the helicopter’s position, velocity, and attitude.
To develop the control system for the helicopter, the team performed extensive modeling and simulation, as well as low-density experiments, to determine how the thin atmosphere would affect the response of the helicopter to control inputs, wind and gusts.
The team’s “Wright brothers’ moment” came in May 2016, when controlled flight was achieved with a test vehicle inside the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Twenty-Five-Foot Space Simulator, a large vacuum chamber where the conditions of the Martian atmosphere were replicated.
In 2018, tests were performed with emulated Martian winds, produced using nearly 900 fans. Furthermore, the Mars Helicopter Flight Model, which will be sent to Mars, was built and tested, before performing its maiden hover flight in early 2019.
It will now be integrated with the rover and await the chance to fly again – this time on Mars.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A three-vehicle crash in Clearlake on Thursday afternoon left several people injured.
The crash occurred shortly before 3:30 p.m. in the 14000 block of Lakeshore Drive, in front of Highlands Park, according to radio reports.
One of the vehicles rolled onto its top and the wreck completely blocked the roadway, police reported.
There also was one person trapped with a possible head injury, with incident command requesting over the radio that an air ambulance respond.
Altogether, incident command reported that there were two people with minor injuries, one with moderate injuries and one with major injuries.
Shortly after the crash, the Clearlake Police Department issued a Nixle alert reporting that Lakeshore Drive was closed between Palmer and Alvita avenues due to the wreck.
A REACH air ambulance responded to Adventist Health Clear Lake to transport the person with major injuries, based on radio traffic.
An update on the person who was flown out was not immediately available from police.
Later on Thursday afternoon, police asked over the radio for city public works staff to respond to nearby Highlands Park due to damage to a pole and other equipment.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Beginning Friday, Jan. 17, at Fritch Hall in the Lake County Fairgrounds in Lakeport, the Country Jamboree – Barbeque Dinner will offer an evening of delicious food and great music with the dinner proceeds benefiting the Lake County Horse Council and Westside Community Horse Park.
Happy hour takes place from 5 to 6 p.m., with dinner from 6 to 9 p.m.
Enjoy a barbecue tri-tip and chicken dinner catered by Lakeview Market along with live music from the fantastic Tom Drinnon, best known for his authentic country sound and versatile range.
Born in Lakeport, Drinnon moved to Nashville at the young age of 23 and was immediately signed with a major management company. From there he went out on the road performing across the nation with many well-known country artists including Carrie Underwood, Randy Travis, Vince Gill, and Tim McGraw, to name a few.
Tickets are $45 per person or $400 for a table of eight – which includes wine, appetizers and a personal server – and can be purchased from Eventbrite through the Lake County Horse Council Facebook page.
The fun continues from 2 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18, when the Horse Council hosts its fourth annual January Jamboree – Equine & Wine, a horse expo and entertainment event at Fritch Hall.
The January Jamboree networks local equestrians with businesses, events and vendors as well as providing educational information for children and adults alike.
The free event will feature food and drinks, wine tasting, tack swap, a raffle and live music with Tom Drinnon.
Vendors will include multiple different horse groups and clubs, boarding and training facilities, tack stores and local businesses. Vendor space is available; the cost is $45 for a 10-foot by 10-foot space.
The Lake County Horse Council’s mission is to support the horse industry in Lake County.
The group puts on safety events, provides educational scholarships to young equestrians, hosts social events and serves as a liaison for equine advocacy with local government agencies.
The council also sponsors the Horse Faire at the Kelseyville Pear Festival every year.
For more information, including details about becoming a vendor, please contact Lake County Horse Council President, Debbie James at 338-1014 or visit the group’s website at www.lakecountyhorsecouncil.com .
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- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – The Department of Water Resources on Thursday conducted the first manual snow survey of 2020 at Phillips Station.
The manual survey recorded 33.5 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent, or SWE, of 11 inches, which is 97 percent of average for this location.
The SWE measures the amount of water contained in the snowpack, which provides a more accurate forecast of spring runoff.
“While the series of cold weather storms in November and December has provided a good start to the 2020 snowpack, precipitation in Northern California is still below average for this time of year,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “We must remember how variable California’s climate is and what a profound impact climate change has on our snowpack.”
More telling than a survey at a single location are DWR’s electronic readings from 130 stations scattered throughout the State. Measurements indicate that statewide, the snowpack’s SWE is 9.3 inches, or 90 percent of the Jan. 2 average.
“It’s still too early to predict what the remainder of the year will bring in terms of snowpack,” said Sean DeGuzman, chief of DWR’s Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Section. “Climate change is altering the balance of rain and snow in California. That is why it is important to maintain our measurements of the snowpack to document the change in addition to having critical information to forecast spring runoff.”
California traditionally receives about 75 percent of its annual precipitation during December, January and February, with the bulk of this precipitation coming from atmospheric rivers.
Similar to last year, California experienced a dry start to this water year followed by cold, wet December storms that brought the state up to 74 percent of average annual precipitation for this time of year.
State officials said climate change is expected to lead to continued warming and fewer but more intense storms impacting the snowpack of the Sierra Nevada. These changes continue to impact the distribution of snow across elevations, its pattern of accumulation, and rate of melt.
DWR conducts five media-oriented snow surveys at Phillips Station each winter in January, February, March, April and, if necessary, May.
On average, the snowpack supplies about 30 percent of California’s water needs as it melts in the spring and early summer.
In related news, a snowpack measurement conducted Dec. 30 at Anthony Peak in the Mendocino National Forest’s Covelo Ranger District found snow at a depth of 17 inches with a density of 24 percent, compared to 25.5 inches and 43 percent density measured in January 2019.
