NASA to deploy robotic 'Marsbees' to explore the Red Planet
NASA is developing a nature-inspired project called Marsbee to aid in exploring the Red Planet. Experts are working on a robotic swarm of bees tasked with collecting data and transmitting it to the rover base, reports IFL Science.
12:51 PM EDT, July 17, 2024
NASA unexpectedly succeeded with the Ingenuity helicopter. Originally planned for five flights, Ingenuity completed as many as 72 missions on Mars, lasting over 1,000 Martian days. This achievement marked a significant leap forward in extraterrestrial flight, where conditions differ greatly from Earth's.
Challanges of flying on Mars
Flying on Mars is no easy feat. "The Red Planet has much lower gravity—one-third of that on Earth—and an extremely thin atmosphere with a pressure of just 1% of what is found on our planet," explained NASA in a press release when Ingenuity made its first flight. In such conditions, it is difficult to achieve flight using traditional technologies.
NASA's solution to these challenges could be the Marsbee project, inspired by nature. A swarm of robots the size of bumblebees but with wings similar to those of cicadas will collect data and transmit it to the rover base. "The migration of flying animals, such as monarch butterflies and albatrosses, demonstrates amazing long-distance flights that can inspire new technologies," explains the team from the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), quoted by IFL Science.
Marsbees, equipped with sensors and communication devices, will be designed with maximum energy efficiency in mind. As Prof. Chang-Kwon Kang from UAH explains, "Our preliminary results suggest that a bumblebee with cicada wings can generate enough lift to hover in the Martian atmosphere." Moreover, these devices will have significantly lower energy requirements thanks to flexible wing structures and innovative energy-harvesting mechanisms.
Marsbees offer additional advantages over other robots. Their small mass and size facilitate interplanetary transport. Furthermore, the swarm approach provides greater reliability, as the failure of one robot will not affect the operation of the remaining devices. Supported by NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC), the Marsbee project could revolutionize planetary exploration, opening new possibilities for future missions.
