Larry A. Young

New Concepts and Perspectives on Micro-Rotorcraft and Small Autonomous Rotary-Wing Vehicles

A key part of the strategic vision for rotorcraft research as identified by senior technologists within the Army/NASA Rotorcraft Division at NASA Ames Research Center is the development and use of small autonomous rotorcraft. Small autonomous rotorcraft are defined for the purposes of this paper to be a class of vehicles that range in size from rotary-wing micro air vehicles (MAVs) to larger, more conventionally sized, rotorcraft uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAVs) - i.e. vehicle gross weights ranging from hundreds of grams to thousands of kilograms. The development of small autonomous rotorcraft represents both a technology challenge and a potential new vehicle class that will have substantial societal impact for: national security, personal transport, planetary science, and public service.

Biologically inspired behavioral strategies for autonomous aerial explorers on Mars

The natural world is a rich source of problem-solving approaches. This paper discusses the feasibility and technical challenges underlying mimicking, or analogously adapting, biological behavioral strategies to mission/flight planning for aerial vehicles engaged in planetary exploration. Two candidate concepts based on natural resource utilization and searching behaviors are adapted to technological applications. Prototypes and test missions addressing the difficulties of implementation and their solutions are also described.

Mars rotorcraft: possibilities, limitations, and implications for human/robotic exploration

Several research investigations have examined the challenges and opportunities in the use of small robotic rotorcraft for the exploration of Mars. To date, only vehicles smaller than 150 kg have been studied. This paper proposes to examine the question of maximum Mars rotorcraft size, range, and payload/cargo capacity. Implications for the issue of whether or not (from an extreme design standpoint) a manned Mars rotorcraft is viable are also discussed.

Aerial Vehicle Surveys of other Planetary Atmospheres and Surfaces: Imaging, Remote-sensing, and Autonomy Technology Requirements

The objective of this paper is to review the anticipated imaging and remote-sensing technology requirements for aerial vehicle survey missions to other planetary bodies in our Solar system that can support in-atmosphere flight. In the not too distant future such planetary aerial vehicle (a.k.a. aerial explorers) exploration missions will become feasible. Imaging and remote-sensing observations will be a key objective for these missions. Accordingly, it is imperative that optimal solutions in terms of imaging acquisition and real-time autonomous analysis of image data sets be developed for such vehicles.

Exploration: Past and Future Contributions of the Vertical Lift Community and the Flight Vehicle Research and Technology Division

Abstract : Fulfillment of the exploration vision will require new cross-mission directorate and multi-technical discipline synergies in order to achieve the necessary long-term sustainability. In part, lessons from the Apollo-era, as well as more recent research efforts, suggest that the aeronautics--and specifically the vertical lift--research community can and will make significant contributions to the exploration effort. A number of notional concepts and associated technologies for such contributions are outlined.

Initial efforts toward mission-representative imaging surveys from aerial explorers

Numerous researchers have proposed the use of robotic aerial explorers to perform scientific investigation of planetary bodies in our solar system. One of the essential tasks for any aerial explorer is to be able to perform scientifically valuable imaging surveys. The focus of this paper is to discuss the challenges implicit in, and recent observations related to, acquiring mission-representative imaging data from a small fixed-wing UAV, acting as a surrogate planetary aerial explorer. This question of successfully performing aerial explorer surveys is also tied to other topics of technical investigation, including the development of unique bio-inspired technologies. Imaging results from two seasons of flights at Haughton Crater, Devon Island, Canada, a well documented Mars Analog site, are presented.

Guidance and Control for a Mars Helicopter

As part of a future mission to Mars, NASA is considering including a small helicopter capable of operating independently in the Martian environment. The Martian atmosphere is extremely thin, with a density of only 1–2% of Earth’s atmospheric density at sea level; this significantly alters the flight dynamics of the vehicle and has implications for vehicle design and control. In this paper we focus on guidance and control for aMars Helicopter, and in particular on the challenges that are unique to operating in the Mars environment. In 2016, the first-ever controlled flight of a helicopter in Martian atmospheric conditions was performed in the 25-ft Space Simulator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. We provide details of the effort leading to this flight demonstration, including modeling, simulation, system identification, guidance, and control.

Smart Precise Rotorcraft InTerconnected Emergency Services (SPRITES)

The greatest utility for small autonomous vertical lift aerial vehicles may be for public service missions, particularly those related to disaster relief and emergency response (DRER). The current work focuses on novel vertical lift aerial vehicle designs that might be well suited for search and rescue (SAR) and small package aid delivery missions. In particular, a vehicle exhibiting efficient cruise, in addition to hover and vertical takeoff and landing capability, is a key attribute for a DRER vehicle. But, correspondingly, cost, simplicity, and community acceptance are also important considerations for such vehicles in conducting their overall mission concept of operations (CONOPS). Further, it is recognized that such DRER missions will need to be supported not just by one vehicle but, instead, by an intelligent network of vehicles to fully realize their full potentiality. Finally, it should be acknowledged that advancements in efficient-cruise small autonomous vertical lift aerial vehicles, ostensibly for DRER missions, will also have a significant cross-cutting technology application to other UAV missions.