[NASA/NIAC] Whereas karst terrain and subsurface caves are websites of immense scientific worth on our bodies like Titan, they’re troublesome or unattainable to securely discover utilizing present strategies.
On this proposal, we search to develop small lighter-than-air automobiles (“aerobots”) that may be deployed as-needed by a bigger spacecraft for coming into and navigating caves. To offer omnidirectional maneuverability and reduce downwash, we suggest distributed electrohydrodynamic propulsors (“atmospheric ion thrusters”), that are each utterly solid-state and nearly silent.
Electrohydrodynamic thrust just isn’t supreme for power-autonomous flight on Earth. In favorable atmospheric situations like these on Titan, nevertheless, we count on energy financial savings of over 100x, not less than twice the profit obtained by rotorcraft. Favorable plasma inception situations also needs to lower the payload mass required for prime voltage conversion in comparison with Earth, and there’s no want for in-situ heating to stop actuator failure at cryogenic temperatures as with rotors.
Along with impartial aerobots, we envision small-scale EHD thrusters as a complementary know-how for different functions, like long-term high-altitude observer station-keeping or propulsive hopper trajectory adjustment, every time atmospheric situations are favorable (e.g., on Venus).
In Section 1, we plan to conduct preliminary feasibility experiments and assemble numerical fashions exhibiting the efficiency of EHD in Titan-like situations, discover EHD thrusters for balloon station-keeping with tethered energy, and conduct targeted engineering design house research (Science Traceability Matrix, Car Subsystem Commerce Examine) culminating in a viable point-design for a Section II prototype.
Daniel Drew, College of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI
Astrobiology,
