The most effective way to prove a new idea is to start small, test, learn and test again. A team of researchers is developing. Atmospheric Investigations Edwards, at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, is taking that approach. The concept could offer future scientists a potentially better and more economical way to collect data on other planets.
The latest iteration of the atmospheric probe followed the Oct. 22 release of a quad-rotor remotely piloted aircraft over Rogers Dry Lake, a flight area adjacent to NASA Armstrong. The investigation leverages NASA research from the 1960s. Body lifting aircraftwhich use the shape of an airplane for lift rather than wings. The test demonstrated the nature of the investigation tasks.
“I’m excited,” said John Budelsky, principal investigator for Atmospheric Probes at NASA Armstrong. “It was completely stable in flight. We will consider releasing it from a higher altitude to allow it to fly longer and perform more maneuvers.”
Starting with one Center Innovation Fund Award in 2023, Budelski worked with the center’s Dell Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory to design and build three atmospheric research models, each vehicle 28 inches long from nose to tail. A model is a visual to show what the concept looks like, while two additional prototypes have refined the technology’s readiness.
The path to successful flight was not smooth, as is to be expected with any new flight idea. The first flight on August 1 did not go as planned. The release mechanism did not work as expected and the air movement from the quad-rotor aircraft was greater than expected. It was that failure that prompted the research team to take another look at everything about the vehicle, leading to many improvements, said Justin Hall, chief pilot of NASA’s Armstrong Small, Unmanned Aircraft System. said
Fast forward to October 22, where, in addition to a redesign of the release mechanism, the reverse release and modified flight control surfaces led to a stable and level flight. “What we learned from the failure of the first vehicle and combining what we learned from that was working well,” Hall said. “It’s a win for us. We have a good place to go from here and we can make a few more changes to make it better.”
“We’re going to focus on getting the airplane up early to give us more flight time to learn more about the prototype. We’ll go to higher altitudes,” Bodelski added. [this flight started at 560 feet altitude] On the next flight because we are not concerned about the stability of the aircraft.
When the team reviewed flight photos and video from the October 22 flight, they identified additional areas for improvement. Another atmospheric probe will be built with optimization and flying. After another successful flight, the team plans future atmospheric probes that will collect data and improve computer models. Data collection is the primary goal of current flights to give scientists confidence in additional probes for environmental missions to other planets.
If the concept is eventually selected for a mission, it will be carried aboard a satellite to its destination. From there, the probe will detach as the parent satellite orbits a planet, then enters and dives into the atmosphere as it gathers information for clues to the formation of the Solar System.