Insect Robots For Mars Exploration

destructor writes "Thanks to these guys, I found this little robotic article. Aided by NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts, flying insect robots are looking at a life on our "little red planet", Mars in order to procure some atmospheric information and samples. Since conventional aircraft are unable to precisely navigate the Mars surface due to very thin air qualities, the robots actually have the ability to "move only their wings rapidly - while the body flies slowly", to ease sample collections." Space.com is carrying a piece on this.

Comments

BEAM

[SubtleNuance]

Anyone interested in 'insect-like' robots will want to do some reading on "B.E.A.M. Robotics", B.E.A.M. stands for Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics, and Mechanics. Bascially, it is the idea, codified by Mark Tilden (linus to beam roboticists (sp?)) that says that roboticists (sp?) should start by building/adapting simple autonimous robots, capable of small tasks. Each successive robot (the next one you build) should be slightly better. If we continue this (un?)natural evolution we should come up with life-like machines. Simple. Elegant. Capable.

See this Google search to start: http://www.google.com/search?q=beam+robotics

To we the appetite, here is a small gallery of Tilden's bots.

Simulating flight on Mars

[PseudonymousCoward]

The X-Plane web site has a description of some of the problems of conventional (non-flapping) flight on Mars. They also have flight models to allow simulation of flight. (However, the propulsion is a little unrealistic; maybe "muscles" would work better.)

Re:Storms...

[nusuth]

Not at all, kinematic viscosity of air and consequently the drag force is not enough to carry "sand" aloft, though it can carry very small particles with ease. Mars happens to have a fair amount dust made of small particles (no rain to wash them away), this is what gives foggy and dark looks to Martian storms. It is not like an desert storm on earth.

Ofcourse "no problems except visibility" is a bit off the mark. There would be many problems with loss communication, static, dust seeping in the suits and possibly breathing apparatus, mechanical failures of instruments due to dust accumulation, unavaliability of air transorts etc. Let me put it this way, there is practically no difference between a 200kph martian storm and a 500kph one for someone on Martian surface.