Drones in Space! A little flying buddy created by NASA to help discover Mars!

 Autonomous quad-copters (drones) are manly used today for getting really cool Arial views of  anything you want and also to fly around for fun. But a team of engineers at NASA want to put one in space! And more specifically, on Mars. These drones are being developed by The Swamp Works Laboratory at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

These drones are fast and flexible. they are able to get in and out of small and tight spaces. The drones are being developed in Florida because of its easy access ability to major launch sites and space training facility's so they could be able to test the device in a space life atmosphere.

How are these drones able to fly in space? Instead of using rotors, they use jets powered by oxygen gas or water vapor to move around.  Which ever is available the planet or asteroid the drone is exploring. With using this fuel, the drones are able to zip around and look for samples in small spaces that traditional landers. These drones will be able to carry enough fuel to be able to travel to where they need to go and to get back to its mother ship.

The drones will change the way we get samples from planets and asteroids. This will be a positive impact on the world. These drones are able to collect samples from the surface of a planet or asteroid. the drones carry one tool with them at a time to help them with gathering samples. the drones can collect a sample size up to 7 grams of materials. After many trips to the location and collecting samples, the drone will be able to create a geological image of that location, According to NASA.


Works Cited:
Editor, Sarah Lewin. “Drones in Space! NASA's Wild Idea to Explore Mars (Video).”Space.com, 5 Aug. 2015, www.space.com/30155-nasa-drones-on-mars-video.html.