NASA's SkyFall Mars Helicopters Will Feature a Revolutionary Antenna Design
Engineers developed a unique fabric-based design for a ground-penetrating radar that will be a key instrument on NASA’s SkyFall Mars helicopters. The hardware will enable the SkyFall mission’s trio of planetary rotorcraft to use ground-penetrating radar to study the Martian subsurface.
NASA is set to launch a groundbreaking trio of Mars helicopters, known as SkyFall, in 2028. These helicopters will be equipped with a revolutionary antenna design to detect shallow subsurface ice deposits crucial for future astronaut missions. The innovative Vivaldi antenna, a flat, lightweight, and flexible antenna, will be able to penetrate several meters below the Martian surface while meeting clearance constraints.
Rigorous testing has demonstrated the antenna's resilience to landing impacts, temperature fluctuations, and radio-frequency performance. Once fully flight-qualified, SkyFall will explore Mars aboard humanity's first nuclear-powered interplanetary mission.
Written by urgent.news from Universe Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
