Exploration of other planets has always been a challenge, but NASA’s Advanced Concepts Institute (ACI) has come up with an interesting solution: a swarm of robotic bees.
Recently, NASA successfully tested its first aircraft on Mars, the Ingenuity helicopter. It exceeded all expectations by making 72 flights in 1000 Martian days, although only five were planned. However, flying on other planets remains a challenge due to low gravity and thin atmospheres.
That’s why engineers turned to nature. They were inspired by monarch butterflies and albatrosses, which are able to cover huge distances despite their size. Researchers from the University of Alabama at Huntsville have developed the concept of «Martian bees» (Marsbees) — robots the size of bumblebees but with cicada-like wings.
These miniature drones will be equipped with sensors and communication devices. They will fly around collecting data and return to the rover base. The developers are striving to achieve maximum energy efficiency, counting on 16 minutes of flight time using conventional batteries.
Chang-kwon Kang, associate professor at the University of Alabama, notes, the company said that preliminary calculations show that such a robot will be able to generate sufficient lift to fly in the Martian atmosphere. Energy consumption will be reduced due to the flexible structure of the wings and an innovative energy harvesting mechanism.
The advantage of «Martian Bees» is their low weight compared to other robots. This will make it possible to use the limited cargo space of interplanetary spacecraft more efficiently. In addition, the swarm will provide greater mission stability — if one «bee» fails, the others will continue to work.
Source: Iflscience