1. 06/08/2005 The 2nd Mars Expedition Planning Workshop (2005) MARTIAN MOTHS: THE USE OF SIMPLE, ROBUST, SINGLE PARAMETER SENSORS TO MAP PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MARTIAN PLAINS Alan Drew International Space University –SSP Alan.N.Drew@gmail.com

2. 06/08/2005 The 2nd Mars Expedition Planning Workshop (2005)

3. 06/08/2005 The 2nd Mars Expedition Planning Workshop (2005)

4. 06/08/2005 The 2nd Mars Expedition Planning Workshop (2005)

5. 06/08/2005 The 2nd Mars Expedition Planning Workshop (2005) Mission Architecture Launch rocket deploys Mars Moths into the atmosphere at a given altitude and location The Mars Moths autorotate to the ground at a set design velocity Once on the ground the robots acquire experimental data while gathering solar energy required for take of and flight. When sufficient energy for the next flight has been acquired, the Mars Moths take off and complete their next flight.

6. 06/08/2005 The 2nd Mars Expedition Planning Workshop (2005)

7. 06/08/2005 The 2nd Mars Expedition Planning Workshop (2005) Design Requirements (1/2) Mars Moths must withstand the deployment launch environment...must tolerate repeated impacts during landing..must tolerate the aerodynamic loads resulting from flapping motion during flight..must be of low enough mass to permit lifting by flapping wings

8. 06/08/2005 The 2nd Mars Expedition Planning Workshop (2005) Design Requirements (2/2)..must be able to acquire experimental data..must be able to communicate data with Meridiani base outside line of sight (relays)..must be capable of completely autonomous flight, landing, take-off..must be capable of take-off and power generation regardless of landing orientation

9. 06/08/2005 The 2nd Mars Expedition Planning Workshop (2005) Mass1.5kg Wingspan0.9m Wing Surface Area0.15m 2 Solar Panel Surface Area0.12m 2 Energy Storage Capacity2000J Design Altitude50m Design Range (per hop)25m Maximum Design Range (per day) 500m Mars Moth Initial Design

10. 06/08/2005 The 2nd Mars Expedition Planning Workshop (2005) Mars Moth Initial Design Solar Panel Batteries Antenna Sensors

11. 06/08/2005 The 2nd Mars Expedition Planning Workshop (2005) Mars Moth Mission Characteristics Not suitable for measurement of time- varying parameters (1 sample/location) Versatility may be added by fitting different types of instrument on the Moths Can cover very large areas in short time without constraint of land vehicle motion Area approx 5,500m 2 per moth per day. This area scales with number of moths

12. 06/08/2005 The 2nd Mars Expedition Planning Workshop (2005) Conclusions Mars Moth may present a cheaper and more reliable source of data Data is less diverse than with rovers, however this may be improved by using several instrument types Mars Moths have significant advantages over rover technology in terms of mobility

13. 06/08/2005 The 2nd Mars Expedition Planning Workshop (2005) Questions?