Mars Flier Prototype

SEWilco writes "BBC News reports that a full-scale prototype of a Mars flier will be built. The ARES glider will unfold in midair for a mission which may cover 850 km (528 miles). I wonder if its huge wings would allow it to be tossed back in the air by a storm in that thin air, although probably not by "winds of a few m/sec"."

Comments

Can't wait to see the pics...

[Anonymous Coward]

when this thing lands and G.W. Bush, in full combat flight suit, steps off to greet the smiling Martian press...

Incidentally, X-plane.org

[torpor]

... has some Mars models (fliable) available here in case anyone wants to try and get a feel for the flight dynamics of this sort of trip.

Pretty interesting, though I don't suppose there's an ARES model for X-plane yet, I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't one soon ...

Re:tiptoe advancements

[KrispyKringle]

Obviously we've all heard in general the debate on manned vs. unmanned expeditions. I may as well point out the obvious, that the money put into a project like this is pretty much a drop in the bucket compared to the amount needed for a manned mission.

More pertinant to this particular mission, though, and intersting in regard to the general debate, is the point that in this instance, we are looking at an unmanned mission with capabilities in fact different, not just lesser, than those of a manned mission. Certainly there is much valuable information to be gained from a manned mission that a glider will not provide, but by the same token, this mission will provide greater mobility and a larger sampling of the planet than any traditional manned (or unmanned) missions can.

While we all want to see manned missions, at the same time we must realize that pragmatically, unmanned missions often have not only more for the money, but more in and of themselves to contribute.

Mission Duration.

[uberdave]

This seems like an bad idea. The Mars Flier is a glider, which means it will have a very limited time aloft. 90 minutes from drop to landing in Earth's thick atmosphere - How long in Mars's thin atmosphere? I hope they train the on board computer to catch a few thermals here and there, otherwise this is a waste. A better idea would be a balloon or dirigible. These can stay aloft for days, weeks even. (Ultra long duration balloons could carry a lot more intstumentation than a glider. Theoretically, a balloon could even land, sample, and relaunch.

Nasa really needs to have another stunningly successful mission, like the pathfinder mission. Spending million of taxpayer dollars for a 90 minute glider mission will make them look bad.