Researchers at Imperial College London, working with NASA’s Ames Research Center and Japan’s Tohoku and Nagoya universities, have compared two blade profiles for Martian helicopters. The study was published in the AIAA Journal.
The test pitted the CLF-5605 airfoil, used on NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter, against roamx-0201, designed by the ROAMX team at Ames specifically for Mars, where the atmosphere has about 1% of Earth’s density and pressure. The team combined computer simulations with experiments in Tohoku University’s Mars Wind Tunnel.
roamx-0201 consistently performed better, with gains of up to 43% in aerodynamic efficiency. It also produced more lift and kept its performance at higher angles.
According to the authors, this could allow future Martian helicopters to fly further, carry heavier payloads and reach difficult terrain such as cliffs and deep craters. The new airfoil has not yet flown on any Mars mission.
