NASA Studies Mars Aircraft
Unmanned aircraft proposed as a candidate for a NASA follow-on mission could be carried in a protective aeroshell that would be mounted on an orbiter vehicle (above left). Once the orbiter reaches Mars, the aircraft would be released, and its wings, tail section and propeller deployed (above right). Basic configuration of the proposed aircraft is similar to a glider, and wingspan of the Mars aircraft is approximately 69ft. to provide lift in the Martian atmosphere (right). Weight of the wing is 70% of the aircraft's total structural weight. Powered by a hydrazine engine, the aircraft could carry scientific payloads of approximately 90-202 lb. over a distance of 6,200 mi. One version of the aircraft would have the capability to take off and land several times on the planet. Full scale mockup of the aircraft's forward fuselage was fitted with seven packages representing scientific instruments and with a deployable container to demonstrate the airplane's internal payload capacity (below right). Dome protruding from the rear of the payload bay is for an imaging system. Conceptual work on the aircraft was conducted by the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Developmental Sciences, Inc. Also contributing to the study were Martin Marietta Aerospace and Lear Seigler Astronautics. Some of the initial conceptual work on the Mars airplane was conducted by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in conjunction with the center's testing of the Mini-Sniffer remotely piloted vehicle (AW&ST Aug. 22, 1977, p. 18). A number of configurations have been studied during the evolution of the Mars airplane design, including a version with canards and one with a pusher-mounted engine. Advantages of the design include large tail area and stowability.
Aviation Week & Space Technology, March 5, 1979