They want to try it, including dynamic soaring!

https://www.eurasiareview.com/02072022-engineers-design-motorless-sailplanes-for-mars-exploration/

On Fri, 1 Jul 2022 15:50:00 -0700 (PDT), Matt Herron Jr. wrote:

> They want to try it, including dynamic soaring!
>
> https://www.eurasiareview.com/02072022-engineers-design-motorless-
sailplanes-for-mars-exploration/

There was another marsplane proposed by Aurora Flight Sciences that got
test flown in 2002/3 - released at around 19 miles altitude (just under
100,000 ft) from a balloon, it successfully unfolded and glided back to
its launch point.

https://www.spacedaily.com/news/marsplane-02b.html

Its main drawback was that it was designed to pop out of its re-entry
package and unfold at a suitable altitude before using a combination of
rocket power and gliding flight to perform an area survey, but would not
have been able to relaunch for a second flight.

--

Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

On Fri, 1 Jul 2022 15:50:00 -0700 (PDT), Matt Herron Jr. wrote:

> They want to try it, including dynamic soaring!
>
> https://www.eurasiareview.com/02072022-engineers-design-motorless-
sailplanes-for-mars-exploration/

On closer reading, this proposal doesn't seem to improve on the Aurora
marsplane, though I think its a bit smaller and lighter, because neither
aircraft can take off after landing.

In addition, I don't believe I've ever read anything that even hints of
the possibility of dynamic soaring (or slope soaring for that matter) on
Mars. I also know (Bob Parks communication) that the Aurora guys thought
that their Marsplane would only be able to fly in the parts of Mars with
the lowest ground level, such as Hellas, Argyre and the northern planitia.

Even hard-extrapolation SF authors like Kim Stanley Robinson (he wrote the
Red/Green/Blue Mars trilogy) doesn't think an aircraft would be capable of
flight using aerodynamic lift until colonists have done drastic things to
raise the Martian air pressure: his colonist's first aircraft are airships
using hot gases for lift.

--

Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

> ... would not have been able to relaunch for a second flight.

It seems the towplane shortage is not an exclusively terrestrial phenomenon.

On Saturday, July 2, 2022 at 12:29:05 PM UTC-6, Martin Gregorie wrote:
> On Fri, 1 Jul 2022 15:50:00 -0700 (PDT), Matt Herron Jr. wrote:
> > They want to try it, including dynamic soaring!
> >
> > https://www.eurasiareview.com/02072022-engineers-design-motorless-
> sailplanes-for-mars-exploration/
> On closer reading, this proposal doesn't seem to improve on the Aurora
> marsplane, though I think its a bit smaller and lighter, because neither
> aircraft can take off after landing.
>
> In addition, I don't believe I've ever read anything that even hints of
> the possibility of dynamic soaring (or slope soaring for that matter) on
> Mars. I also know (Bob Parks communication) that the Aurora guys thought
> that their Marsplane would only be able to fly in the parts of Mars with
> the lowest ground level, such as Hellas, Argyre and the northern planitia.
>
> Even hard-extrapolation SF authors like Kim Stanley Robinson (he wrote the
> Red/Green/Blue Mars trilogy) doesn't think an aircraft would be capable of
> flight using aerodynamic lift until colonists have done drastic things to
> raise the Martian air pressure: his colonist's first aircraft are airships
> using hot gases for lift.
> --
>
> Martin | martin at
> Gregorie | gregorie dot org
Appears there's been some progress since their initial attempts. But not a Mars airframe.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/project-frigatebird-ai-for-autonomous-soaring/

On Saturday, July 2, 2022 at 12:29:05 PM UTC-6, Martin Gregorie wrote:
> On Fri, 1 Jul 2022 15:50:00 -0700 (PDT), Matt Herron Jr. wrote:
> > They want to try it, including dynamic soaring!
> >
> > https://www.eurasiareview.com/02072022-engineers-design-motorless-
> sailplanes-for-mars-exploration/
> On closer reading, this proposal doesn't seem to improve on the Aurora
> marsplane, though I think its a bit smaller and lighter, because neither
> aircraft can take off after landing.
>
> In addition, I don't believe I've ever read anything that even hints of
> the possibility of dynamic soaring (or slope soaring for that matter) on
> Mars. I also know (Bob Parks communication) that the Aurora guys thought
> that their Marsplane would only be able to fly in the parts of Mars with
> the lowest ground level, such as Hellas, Argyre and the northern planitia.
>
> Even hard-extrapolation SF authors like Kim Stanley Robinson (he wrote the
> Red/Green/Blue Mars trilogy) doesn't think an aircraft would be capable of
> flight using aerodynamic lift until colonists have done drastic things to
> raise the Martian air pressure: his colonist's first aircraft are airships
> using hot gases for lift.
> --
>
> Martin | martin at
> Gregorie | gregorie dot org
This approach might have potential
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/zephyr-high-flying-drone-has-been-up-for-17-days-as-part-of-army-test

On Mon, 4 Jul 2022 09:39:34 -0700 (PDT), Frank Whiteley wrote:

> Appears there's been some progress since their initial attempts. But
> not a Mars airframe.
> https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/project-frigatebird-ai-
for-autonomous-soaring/

Don't forget the ALOFT project, a 5m span carbon autonomous model that
demonstrated autonomous XC flight round a triangle in 2007.

--

Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

On Mon, 4 Jul 2022 09:48:00 -0700 (PDT), Frank Whiteley wrote:

> This approach might have potential
> https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/zephyr-high-flying-drone-has-been-
up-for-17-days-as-part-of-army-test

Thanks for that link: I didn't know Zephyr is now an Airbus product (it
was originally a Qinetiq development) or that it had crossed the Gulf of
Mexico on an out-and-return.

Very cool, and looks like a Marsplane too.

--

Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org