Nasa designs drones for planetary exploration

Posted on 3 Aug 2015 by Michael Cruickshank
A prototype of Nasa's Extreme Access Flyer. Image courtesy of Nasa Swamp Works

Engineers working for Nasa have begun designing vehicles designed to fly through the skies of other planets.

This vehicles, under development by Nasa’s ‘Swamp Works’ division are envisaged as a future alternative to unmanned rovers. Called ‘Extreme Access Flyers’, these craft are being built on the same design principles as popular quadcopter drones. Unlike quadcopters however, these drones will need to fly in the thin atmosphere of Mars, or airless environments in…

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