Is China Making Its Own Mars Helicopter? This Drone Looks Like NASA Ingenuity's Copycat

China is considering other ways to improve its space research skills. Hence, the country wanted to make a drone that looks similar to NASA's Ingenuity helicopter.

The country's National Space Science Center (NSSC) revealed a prototype of a "Mars surface cruise drone" that passed a final evaluation on August 20.

The rotorcraft was among the initiatives in the NSSC's technology nurturing program. Bian Chunjiang of the NSSC spearheaded the project, which includes a tiny spectrometer.

As SpaceNews writer Andrew Jones pointed out on Twitter, the photograph provided by the science center depicts a tiny rotorcraft with two big blades sitting on a table, which appears to be highly influenced by NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter. Although the concept might be explored for future Mars research, the NSSC has yet to select a mission on which the helicopter could fly.

China's Mars Exploration Plans

In a statement, CNNSC said the drone will be equipped with a spectrometer to apparently examine the geographical aspects of the Martian surface.

China has ambitious intentions to explore the Red Planet. Science Times cited China's announcement earlier this year that it plans to launch its first crewed trip to Mars as soon as 2033.

In February, China's launched Tianwen-1 into orbit around the Red Planet. The successful landing of Zhurong rover in May followed this achievement. China's next Mars mission could launch between 2028 to 2030 launch windows.

Space News said China's wanted to fly a drone to Mars since then. In addition to a rover, China wanted to have "three-dimensional, multi-layer, and multi-source information" for their mission.

The China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) has commissioned Shenzhen Aerospace DFH HIT Satellite Ltd. and the Beijing Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering to develop sketches for Mars exploration.

China chose first ever winged drone instead of a helicopter because of high rotation speed issues and the need for a lighter structure and high-efficiency power supply. Before pitching and releasing its wings, the drone would take off vertically from Mars' surface. The vehicle would be long ranged and would be capable of gathering and examining Martian samples. It would also be capable of penetrating areas that are otherwise inaccessible, such as canyons and craters.

Meanwhile, Science Times said NASA has just confirmed the idea of flying a vehicle on Mars. The 1.8-kilogram Ingenuity helicopter was carried by the Perseverance rover when it arrived on Mars in February. In April, the spacecraft accomplished the first powered flight by an aircraft on another globe. On August 16, it completed its 12th and most recent trip, reaching 450 meters in 169.5 seconds.

The U.S. Space Agency is now looking at bigger, more capable rotorcraft designs for future missions. The Dragonfly drone will be launched in 2027 and will arrive in 2034 on Titan, Saturn's most giant moon. The planetary scientific project Dragonfly was chosen as a New Frontiers mission.

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