Mars Personal Flying Wing

Have you ever wanted a rocket pack to soar amongst the sky? Now you can … on Mars… Gravity is less, atmospheric density is less, and the vistas are breathtaking. So come to Mars...

Buck Rogers aside, Mars is an interesting environment for out-of-this-world mobility options for an explorer. This challenge asks for the definition of a conceptual mobility solution to allow an astronaut to easily and rapidly explore Mars including overcoming obstacles such as cliffs, ravines and other difficult terrain. The solution should be person-portable and any means or source of propulsion be locally produced.

This challenge can be answered by:

• producing an app to simulate your adventures in building your jet pack and flying around Mars;
• produce an app that provides the local gravity, atmospheric conditions (density, weather, anything-else-of-interest) to help decide what is needed for your jet pack design;
• perform a feasibility/conceptual study of an actual jet pack design that could use potential Mars fuel sources; or Design and Demonstrate a model scale jet pack using hardware.

The Mars Personal Flying Wing is a jet-pack hybrid rocket that enables an astronaut to travel on Planet Mars quickly, safely and conveniently. The airborne vehicle rockets to cruising altitude before transitioning into a gliding configuration by altering its centre of mass. It is advantageous for an explorer to travel across large distances on Mars at high speeds with an efficient fuel source.

A hardware prototype of the Flying Wing has been constructed for Earth conditions. In addition, a simulation model has been developed in accordance with Mars’ low air pressure environment. The Flying Wing is a portable form of transportation, being encased in a backpack that folds out into an aircraft for manned flight. The hardware prototype has a weight of 1.25kg with a sustained lift of 17km/hr. In comparison, the aircraft designed for the Mars environment is 70kg with a sustained lift at 400km/hr. The simulation accounted for a 80kg person, 20kg space suit, 180kg of fuel and a 100kg payload.

For the construction of the Mars Flying Wing, carbon fibre was selected as it exhibits a high tensile strength to weight ratio. The propellent is fuelled by liquid carbon monoxide combusted by pure liquid oxygen in a semi-cryogenic form. The fuel and oxidiser is able to be sourced from Mars' atmosphere, with the provision of a electrolysis machine. Traditional methods for flight on Earth such as propeller systems are infeasible for airborne transportation on Mars, due to the low air pressure on the planet. In accordance, innovation was necessary to create an engine system that would enable an astronaut to hover above ground and land safely at high speeds.

Software:

• Arduino
• Solidworks
• Foilsim
• Java 3D Toolbox
• Exfoil

Hardware:

• 3D PLA models (ribs, fuselage, CG swing)
• 11kV brushless DC motors
• 2.1kG & 13kG Servo Motors
• 6600mA batteries 40C lipo batteries
• All-in-one V2 Flight controller
• Balsa Wood
• Plastic shrink wrap
• Wires, Screws, Bolts
• 2.4GHz wireless transceivers