AeroVironment Collaborating with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to Build First Drone - the Mars Helicopter - to Fly on Mars
July 03, 2018
- New space endeavor draws on company’s unique and diverse history of innovation and high-altitude drone flight experience
- Drone prototypes have passed rigorous tests in simulated Mars atmosphere
- Final Mars-bound helicopter now in production at JPL
MONROVIA, Calif., July 3, 2018 – What does a company do when its trailblazing and diverse innovations for nearly half a century have redefined how the world drives and flies? When its many technological “firsts” include the first practical electric car, flying the Nano Hummingbird drone, record-setting, solar-powered aircraft flights in near space, and reshaping the battlefield with portable, hand-held, tactical drones and loitering munitions?
It takes on another world.
At a briefing held Wednesday at New York City’s NASDAQ Marketsite, AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV) revealed its critical role in collaborating with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA/JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. to build the drone helicopter recently selected by NASA/JPL’s Mars Exploration Program, and displayed a model of the Mars Helicopter, which is planned to fly on Mars in less than three years.
“AeroVironment’s deep, rich and diverse history of innovation combined with our experience with near-space aircraft like Pathfinder and Helios make us uniquely suited to collaborate with NASA and JPL on this historic, interplanetary venture,” said AeroVironment President and Chief Executive Officer Wahid Nawabi.
Flying at nearly 100,000 feet on Earth is much like flying on the surface of Mars – same air density – so AeroVironment used airfoil design principles and simulation tools the technology company learned from record high-altitude flights and incorporated them into the Mars helicopter design.
“The Mars Helicopter effort also benefits from the ultra-lightweight and ultra-high-precision methods integral to our nano projects that have been developed in our MacCready Works laboratory, where we’ve assembled a dedicated team of the industry’s brightest and most experienced thinkers to solve some of today’s greatest technological challenges,” Nawabi said.
AeroVironment first developed subscale Mars helicopter prototypes to test and demonstrate the feasibility of lift in the thin Martian atmosphere.Then in May 2016, AeroVironment delivered to NASA/JPL a Mars Helicopter rotor and landing gear prototype that was integrated with a JPL-developed controller and demonstrated free flight in a simulated Mars atmosphere, proving that it is possible to fly on the Red Planet. Next, AeroVironment delivered major helicopter subsystems in the fall of 2017 for integration into Mars-representative engineering development models. JPL built two Engineering Development Model Mars Helicopters, integrating the AeroVironment rotor, landing gear, fuselage shell and solar panel substrate together with JPL-developed fuselage composed of flight avionics, onboard power, telecom, flight control and sensors into two models.
One of the development models was used for flight demonstration in JPL’s large 25-foot space simulator, and the other for environmental testing, including thermal tests to ensure the vehicle can endure the frigid Mars nights, and vibration tests to make sure it is rugged enough to survive launch. Both vehicles passed the rigorous tests, paving the way for the development and fabrication of the final, Mars-bound version.
AeroVironment is currently building the flight versions of their subsystems which will be integrated with other subsystems into the vehicle that JPL is building. The plan is for JPL to then install the finished Mars Helicopter into the Mars 2020 rover for its ride to a Martian landing site, still to be determined.
The Mars Helicopter project is led by NASA JPL with team members across JPL, AeroVironment, NASA Ames and NASA Langley. The AeroVironment team has worked closely with NASA rotorcraft experts at the NASA Ames and Langley research centers and with JPL electrical, mechanical, materials, vehicle flight controls, and systems engineers. AeroVironment’s contributions to the first Mars drone include design and development of the helicopter’s airframe and major subsystems, including its rotor, rotor blades, hub and control mechanism hardware. The company also developed and built high-efficiency, lightweight propulsion motors, power electronics, landing gear, load-bearing structures, and the thermal enclosure for NASA/JPL’s avionics, sensors, and software systems
The press briefing featured high-impact visuals and models of many of AeroVironment’s innovations, including the Snipe™ nano drone – the latest tactical UAS innovation from AeroVironment that provides today’s defenders with critical information whenever and wherever it is needed – and the Switchblade® Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System (LMAMS). AeroVironment recently received Switchblade orders from the U.S. Army and U.S. Marines Corps through Urgent Needs Statements.
About AeroVironment, Inc. (AV)
AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV) is a global leader in intelligent multi-domain robotic systems, uncrewed aircraft and ground systems, sensors, software analytics, and connectivity. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, AeroVironment delivers actionable intelligence so our customers can proceed with certainty. For more information, visit www.avinc.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are made on the basis of current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental and technological factors outside of our control, that may cause our business, strategy or actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, our ability to perform under existing contracts and obtain additional contracts; changes in the regulatory environment; the activities of competitors; failure of the markets in which we operate to grow; failure to expand into new markets; failure to develop new products or integrate new technology with current products; and general economic and business conditions in the United States and elsewhere in the world. For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see the reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not intend, and undertake no obligation, to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Additional AV News: click here
AV Media Gallery: click here
Contact:
AeroVironment+1.703.418.2828
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)