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Until now, the Mars explorations have been done by ground-based rovers and orbiters. Rovers can provide a high quality data but its exploration area is limited. On the other hand, orbiter can supply a spatially wide data but its resolution is very low. Another method of Mars exploration is using airplane. Airplane can explore a larger area than rover and can supply much higher resolution data than orbiter. However, flight on Mars is very difficult because its atmosphere condition is totally different from that of earth. First, the atmospheric density of Martian surface is roughly equivalent to an altitude of 100,000 feet on Earth. With such a thin atmosphere, generating enough lift to support the airplane weight is difficult and wing loading has to be small. Another problem is that the speed of sound on Mars is lower than on Earth. Thus, transonic aerodynamic effects are encountered at a low flight speed.
Until now, the Mars explorations have been done by ground-based rovers and orbiters. Rovers can provide a high quality data but its exploration area is limited. On the other hand, orbiter can supply a spatially wide data but its resolution is very low. Another method of Mars exploration is using airplane. Airplane can explore a larger area than rover and can supply much higher resolution data than orbiter. However, flight on Mars is very difficult because its atmosphere condition is totally different from that of earth. First, the atmospheric density of Martian surface is roughly equivalent to an altitude of 100,000 feet on Earth. With such a thin atmosphere, generating enough lift to support the airplane weight is difficult and wing loading has to be small. Another problem is that the speed of sound on Mars is lower than on Earth. Thus, transonic aerodynamic effects are encountered at a low flight speed.
The final goal of this research is to develop high performance Mars exploration airplane that can explore the over than 500km area. To achieve this goal, we are developing
The final goal of this research is to develop high performance Mars exploration airplane that can explore the over than 500km area. To achieve this goal, we are developing
- High Accuracy CFD code for transition and separation estimation
- Efficient robust design method
- High performance low Reynolds and High subsonic airfoil and wing.
Fig 1. Mars Exploration Airplane and Design element
Fig 2. Mars Exploration Airplane in Entry Aeroshell
Fig 3. Mars Exploration Airplane Deployment from Aeroshell
To develop the airfoils for wing or propeller, laminar-turbulent transition model is employed. in the low Reynolds flows, the laminar region on the airfoil is not negligible because the transition occurs on the mid-chord of upper surface of airfoil.
To develop the airfoils for wing or propeller, laminar-turbulent transition model is employed. in the low Reynolds flows, the laminar region on the airfoil is not negligible because the transition occurs on the mid-chord of upper surface of airfoil.
Fig 4. Intermittency and Transition Region on the Airfoils
Fig 5. Separation and Reattachment Position on the Airfoils
Exploration region and mission profile are designed. Based on the mission profile and the airfoil, the airplane configuration is conceptually designed.
Exploration region and mission profile are designed. Based on the mission profile and the airfoil, the airplane configuration is conceptually designed.
Fig 6. Configuration of the Mars Exploration Airplane
Table 1. Mars Exploration Airplane Specifications
The density of the Martian atmosphere is 1/100 times of the Earth. Thus, a high performance propeller is necessary to generate enough thrust. To enhance the performance of the propeller, the airfoil of propeller is designed. Based on the airfoil, propeller is configured. To figure out the relation between objective functions and variables, data mining is performed using a functional analysis of variance (ANOVA) and self-organizing map (SOM)
The density of the Martian atmosphere is 1/100 times of the Earth. Thus, a high performance propeller is necessary to generate enough thrust. To enhance the performance of the propeller, the airfoil of propeller is designed. Based on the airfoil, propeller is configured. To figure out the relation between objective functions and variables, data mining is performed using a functional analysis of variance (ANOVA) and self-organizing map (SOM)
Fig 7. Aerodynamic Performances of the Airfoils
Table 8. Configuration of the Designed Propeller
Fig 9. Analysis of Variance
Fig 10. Self-Organizing Map
The control surfaces are designed based on the required stability and maneuverability. To validate the performance of the control surface and the stability of the airplane, wind tunnel experiments are performed.
The control surfaces are designed based on the required stability and maneuverability. To validate the performance of the control surface and the stability of the airplane, wind tunnel experiments are performed.
Fig 11. Airplane Model and Control Surface
Fig 12. Oil-Flow Test
To validate the performance of Mars exploration airplane, the RC-size-scaled model is built. The flight test is performed using the scaled flight model
To validate the performance of Mars exploration airplane, the RC-size-scaled model is built. The flight test is performed using the scaled flight model
Fig 13. The RC-Scaled Flight Model
Fig 14. Flight Test
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