India’s ISRO is gearing up to send a helicopter to Mars alongside a lander, marking a continuation of its space exploration efforts after the Mangalyaan Mars Orbiter Mission concluded in 2022.
The mission aims to have a lander touchdown on the red planet, deploying both a rover and a drone similar to NASA’s Ingenuity quadcopter, which recently completed an unprecedented three-year mission comprising 72 flights.
While ISRO’s drone programme is still in its conceptual stage, it envisions flights reaching heights of up to 100 metres in Mars’ thin atmosphere. The drone will carry payloads such as the Martian Boundary Layer Explorer (Marble) to investigate Martian weather patterns and climate history, aiding future exploration endeavours and predictions of future conditions. Additionally, the drone will conduct vertical profiling of atmospheric parameters and perform in-situ measurements in the near-surface boundary layers of Mars.
This forthcoming Martian drone expedition further underscores India’s rising prominence in space exploration. ISRO has garnered praise from global counterparts like NASA and its MAVEN team, showcasing the collaborative spirit driving humanity’s quest to explore the cosmos.
In pursuing the mysteries of the universe, India continues to contribute significantly through initiatives like these.
