NASA's Marsbee: Robotic swarm set to revolutionise red planet exploration
NASA is developing a nature-inspired project, Marsbee, to assist in exploring the Red Planet. Experts are working on a robotic swarm of bees. Their task will be to collect data and then transmit it to the rover base, reports IFL Science.
NASA achieved unexpected success with the Ingenuity helicopter. After performing the planned five flights, it completed as many as 72 missions on Mars, lasting over 1000 Martian days. This achievement marked a significant leap forward in the field of flights on other planets, where conditions differ greatly from those on Earth.
Challenges of flying on Mars
Flying on Mars is no easy feat. In a press release when Ingenuity made its first flight, NASA explained that the Red Planet had much lower gravity—one-third of that on Earth—and an extremely thin atmosphere with a pressure of just 1% of what is found on our planet. In such conditions, achieving flight using traditional technologies isn't easy.
NASA's solution to these challenges could be the Marsbee project, inspired by nature. A swarm of robots the size of bumblebees but with wings similar to those of cicadas will collect data and transmit it to the rover base. University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) explains that migrating flying animals, such as monarch butterflies and albatrosses, demonstrate amazing long-distance flights that can inspire new technologies.
Marsbees, equipped with sensors and communication devices, will be designed with maximum energy efficiency in mind. As Prof. Chang-Kwon Kang from UAH explains: "Our preliminary numerical results suggest that a bumblebee with a cicada wing can generate sufficient lift to hover in the Martian atmosphere." Moreover, thanks to the flexible wing structures and innovative energy-harvesting mechanisms, the energy requirements of these devices will be significantly lower.
Marsbees have additional advantages over other robots – their small mass and size facilitate interplanetary transport. Furthermore, the swarm provides greater reliability, as the failure of one robot will not affect the operation of the remaining devices. The Marsbee project, supported by NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC), could revolutionise how we explore other planets, opening new possibilities for future missions.
