NASA is continuing to build the Titan Dragonfly helicopter, with a focus on its rotors

Ingenuity, the helicopter aiding NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover on its mission, has been an enormous success. It gathered the achievement of the primary managed flight on one other heavenly physique, has carried out spectacularly over its 28 flights and holds data for each velocity and distance. But it surely may not for lengthy, as a a lot greater, extra succesful helicopter is at the moment below growth. And when it will definitely explores Titan within the subsequent decade, it has a great opportunity to smash a lot of Ingenuity’s data.

That helicopter, generally known as Dragonfly, is at the moment nonetheless in growth on Earth. However, it achieved a significant milestone not too long ago by finishing the testing of its rotor blades at a novel testing chamber positioned at NASA’s Langley Analysis Heart.

The Transonic Dynamics Tunnel (TDT) differs from a typical wind tunnel in a number of methods. Most useful on this case is its potential to make use of gases different than simply Earth-normal air. Within the case of Dragonfly’s check, the TDT stuffed itself with a heavy gasoline meant to imitate Titan’s nitrogen-heavy environment.

In that surroundings, the rotors have been twisted, turned, sped up, and slowed down. In some assessments, one of many two rotors that make up certainly one of Dragonfly’s 4 coaxial pairs (for eight rotors in total). This was meant to imitate a possible failure state of affairs the place one (or extra) of the rotors do not work.

Dragonfly ought to have the ability to get alongside with out a number of of its rotor blades being operational, making it far more strong than its smaller predecessor. In truth, the problem that can ultimately kill Ingenuity (lack {of electrical} energy) will not be as a lot of an issue for Dragonfly, because it makes use of a radioisotope thermal generator fairly than a set of solar panels on its smaller predecessor.

With a purpose to fulfill that promise, although, the rotors should work effectively sufficient to permit Dragonfly to fly on one other world, which is what the testing on the TDT is for. Within the chamber, sensors, akin to accelerometers and pressure sensors, have been added to the rotors below check. Their knowledge was used to validate computational fluid dynamic (CFD) fashions of how the rotors would carry out.

A few of the CFD fashions used to simulate the stresses and strains on the rotors have been initially developed to work with wind turbine farms. Nevertheless, the info from the TDT matched these fashions used to design Dragonfly effectively, which means that the rotors ought to have the ability to face up to the difficult surroundings on Titan’s floor.

It is a good factor, too, as a result of the craft they’ve to carry up is huge. Sizing as much as be about 12 ft lengthy and 12 ft extensive, Dragonfly appears to be like like a typical terrestrial drone on steroids. Its eight rotors will enable it to hop from one place to a different on the planet’s floor, permitting it to gather knowledge at varied websites on the shrouded moon.

That mission aim remains to be a great distance off, although, as rotor testing is a really early step within the general check program that the mission will endure. However the designers and engineers nonetheless have a while till the launch window of 2027. And much more time till the craft lastly arrives at its vacation spot in 2034. Till then, there’s loads extra testing to do.