Researchers Develop Sailing Plane Designed to Fly Over Mars
American researchers have developed a light sailing craft designed to fly over Mars and collect data. Non-motorized aircraft are built to use natural winds pattern around Mars to operate for days. The aircraft is equipped with flight, temperature and gas sensors, as well as cameras. It is designed to collect data about the atmosphere and physical structure of the Red Planet. A working model of the sailplane was developed by engineers at the University of Arizona. The team is partnered on the project with Alexandre Kling, a research scientist with the American space agency NASA. Kling said in a statement the sailing craft could be a valuable resource in helping NASA study important areas above the Martian surface. “You have this very important and critical piece at the planetary boundary layer like in the first few kilometers above the ground,” he said. “This is where all the exchange between the surface and the atmosphere takes place.” Kling works at NASA’s Mars Climate Modeling Cen