NASA ARES robotic rocketplane for Mars planned

The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) plans to build what it calls a ‘robotic rocketplane’ – having the size of a light aircraft – and propel it into space to fly above Mars, the red planet.

NASA picture: ARES robot airplane leaves its aeroshell

The droid aircraft that NASA intends to make has been named ARES (Aerial Regional-scale Environmental Surveyor) – the same name as the agency’s planned new generation of launch rockets.

However, this ARES is different in more ways than one. It will be the first-ever aircraft to fly over another world.  We know you are looking for photos or pictures of the ARES, but this is all in planning stages, and all we have are these official pictures / graphics released by NASA. Again, that is not the ARES in the pics. It is just a visualization. The final robotic aircraft that will be the real ARES may actually look quite different.

ARES robot aircraft flying over Mars: NASA graphics

NASA says ARES will be launched from Earth, probably atop a Delta II rocket stack. The craft will fly to Mars, packaged in a re-entry capsule called ‘aeroshell.’

After entering the atmosphere of Mars, the aeroshell will open. Parachutes will then “drag out” the folded-up aeroplane; wings and tail will come out, and the propulsion system – a liquid bipropellant rocket – will be fired.

At that time, the carrier spacecraft, which had dropped the aeroshell into Mar’s atmosphere, will lift up into a ‘flyby’ orbit above the red planet.

The ARES robotic aircraft will then stabilize its flight, one mile above Mars, for about one hour and a quarter. During this period, it will scan the Martian atmosphere as well as terrain over an area covering as much as 600 kilometres.

NASA said it hopes ARES robotic plane will not only provide much more detailed readings than a conventional orbiter does but also cover much more ground than earlier ground rovers could.

Data collected by ARES robot plane is to be relayed to the Earth via the carrier spacecraft.

NASA has been toying with the idea of a Mars-plane for many years now. Indeed, NASA has had a plan to launch such a plane in 2007, but it could not.

Now, NASA is seeking help from designers and companies to build its Mars-plane.

A week ago, NASA issued a ‘teaming opportunity’ requesting help from designers and companies for its scientists at NASA’s Langley Research Centre, in Hampton, Virginia, the United States.

NASA is considering the Mars-plane project as a ‘Discovery’ mission, which will concentrate on exploring planets in the Solar System, and are aimed to be comparatively low-cost and are quick to carry out.

The areas in which NASA is seeking help from outside include the following: the ARES science team; the ARES education and public outreach (E/PO) team; control surfaces; design and development of the aerial platform structures and mechanisms sub-system that comprise the composite airframe, and associated hinging and latching mechanisms; design and development of the command and data handling, flight software, and the navigation sensors (only for entry and flight over Mars); and design and development of the liquid-rocket propulsion subsystem for the aerial platform.