Editor’s note: This blog entry is adapted from NASA social media content originally published September 12-15, 2023.
UAV
Posted inExploration Gear & Tech, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Reports, Roadmaps, & Plans, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report
NASA SMD: Advance Notice of Intent to Solicit: Science Transport & Robotic Innovation for Deployment and Exploration (STRIDE)
NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) through the Mars Exploration Program (MEP) within the Planetary Science Division (PSD) intends to add a new program element under the Planetary Science Division (PSD) […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrogeology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report
Unoccupied Aircraft Systems Sampling For Earth And Mars
Unoccupied aircraft systems (UAS) technology on Earth has become increasingly prevalent and accessible, and for extraterrestrial applications, the Ingenuity helicopter has proven the viability of flight on Mars.
Posted inExploration Gear & Tech, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs
Skyfall: Future Concept Next-Gen Mars Helicopters for Exploration and Human Landing Preparation
Today, AeroVironment, Inc. (“AV”) (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in intelligent, multi-domain autonomous systems, revealed Skyfall—a potential future mission concept for next-generation Mars Helicopters developed with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Nighthawk: Rationale For A Mars Chopper Class Rotorcraft To Explore Noctis Labyrinthus
Summary: Nighthawk is a concept for a NASA Mars Chopper mission to explore Eastern Noctis Labyrinthus. The region presents extreme terrain ideally traversed by rotorcraft. Although Ingenuity would not be […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Cryobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Ice Planet Recon: Drone Experiment Reveals How Greenland’s Ice Sheet Is Changing
For the first time, researchers have collected detailed measurements of water vapor high above the surface of the Greenland ice sheet. Their research, aided by a custom-designed drone, could help […]
Posted inCryobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Towards Autonomous Surface Missions on Ocean Worlds
Through advanced autonomy testbed programs, NASA is setting the groundwork for one of its top priorities—the search for signs of life and potentially habitable bodies in our solar system and […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Ocean Planet Exploration Droids: Autonomous eDNA Collection Using An Uncrewed Surface Vessel
The collection of environmental DNA (eDNA) samples is often laborious, costly, and logistically difficult to accomplish at high frequency in remote locations and over large geographic areas.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Launch Services Contract Awarded For Dragonfly Astrobiology Mission
NASA has selected SpaceX to provide launch services for the Dragonfly mission, a rotorcraft lander mission under NASA’s New Frontiers Program, designed to explore Saturn’s moon Titan. The mission will […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Status Report
Profiling Near-Surface Winds On Mars Using Attitude Data From Mars 2020 Ingenuity
We used attitude data from the Mars Ingenuity helicopter with a simple steady-state model to estimate windspeeds and directions at altitudes of 3 meters up to 24 meters, the first […]