Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This paper presents a comprehensive framework for designing and deploying aerial robots (aerobots) to revolutionise Mars exploration. The Martian environment, characterised by a tenuous atmosphere, extreme thermal variations, and diverse, often inaccessible terrain, presents fundamental challenges to the operational range and efficiency of conventional rovers and landers. Aerobots can overcome many of these limitations by enabling rapid regional surveys, accessing high-priority sites beyond rover reach, and supporting human exploration through environmental reconnaissance. Drawing on insights from past planetary missions, including the Ingenuity helicopter, the framework integrates planetary science constraints with aerospace engineering principles to address aerodynamic performance, structural integrity, autonomy, and environmental resilience. Central to this work is the Mars Aerobot Design Thinking Matrix, a decision-support tool that links mission objectives to testable engineering requirements, enabling systematic trade-off analysis across configuration, energy strategy, and operational margins. The proposed framework aims to guide the development of aerobots capable of sustained and scientifically productive operations in the unique conditions of Mars.
Source: Communications Engineering
Institution: Cranfield University
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,190
OpenAlex ID: W7161633798