We know more about Mars than any other planet besides Earth, and that’s largely thanks to our ability to send high-tech equipment to its surface. Robotic rovers have been cruising around on the Red Planet for years now, and they’ve provided valuable insight into the makeup of the planet, but in terms of scope, they’ve only scoured small sections of the planet. Now, NASA is helping to fund a new tool for Mars exploration, and this time it has wings.
In an new proposal, scientists explain how the use of tiny robotic “Marsbees” could expedite exploration efforts by taking to the skies. With wireless connections to a base station — which doubles as a recharge station to give the tiny bees more power — the winged robots could cover a greater area in much less time, while performing a number of different tasks.
“The Marsbees are integrated with sensors and wireless communication devices,” Chang-kwon Kang of the University of Alabama, Huntsville, writes. “The mobile base can act as a recharging station and main communication center. The swarm of Marsbee can significantly enhance the Mars exploration mission with the following benefits: i) Facilitating reconfigurable sensor networks; ii) Creation of resilient systems; iii) Sample or data collection using single or collaborative Marsbees.”- READ MORE
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