24th Congress of International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, 29 August-3, September 2004, Yokohama, Japan
Paper ICAS 2004-1.8.2 (St.)

CONCEPTUAL DESIGN AND FEASIBILITY FOR A MINIATURE MARS EXPLORATION ROTORCRAFT

N. Tsuzuki, S. Sato*, T. Abe*
University of Tokyo, Japan; *The Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan

Keywords: Mars exploration, rotorcraft, low Reynoldsnumber

An aerial vehicle operating under the command of a rover has a potential to extend the coverage for Mars exploration. The feasibility for such a rotorcraft was assessed. For this aim, the aerodynamic characteristics of rotors at very low Reynolds numbers due to the thin Mars atmosphere were experimentally investigated.

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