3 ms·
Aerodynamic forces are proportional to density. Mars' surface gravity is 1/3 that of Earth's. Mars' surface air density is 1/60 that of earths. So to use lif
by colechristensen 3y ago
Aerodynamic forces are proportional to density.
Mars' surface gravity is 1/3 that of Earth's.
Mars' surface air density is 1/60 that of earths.
So to use lifting surfaces on Mars to fly, the situation is 20x harder.
It's roughly equivalent to flying at 40,000 ft on Earth with an electric helicopter. The world record for highest helicopter ever flown is 42,500 ft on Earth.
Flying on Mars is like flying more or less at the service ceiling of all but the most specialized aircraft can on Earth, and most of those are air breathing engines.
The structural weight required to make equivalent lift to weight ratios (L/W) is very much harder and the lower gravity doesn't make up for most of the difficulty.
- nickff 3y agoFrom what I understand, the issues with flying high on earth is that engines don’t work as well at high altitudes, and you get into ‘coffin corner’ where an aircraft’s stall speed approaches the speed of sound (that is inconvenient for high aspect-ratio aircraft). These problems are not as challenging for electric aircraft flying in generally lower density atmosphere.
- robryk 3y agoBoth lift and drag are aerodynamic forces, so your approximation causes one to conclude that one need to simply spin everything faster. (And then we run into problems with transonic blades.) > It's roughly equivalent to flying at 40,000 ft on Earth with an electric helicopter. The world record for highest helicopter ever flown is 42,500 ft on Earth. The record was established in a jet-engined helicopter, whose service ceiling is largely a function of engine power at appropriate altitudes (e.g. it varies a lot with temperature and humidity).