NASA is working on creating an extraterrestrial aircraft for research expeditions to Mars. The aircraft will be able to take off vertically, which is extremely important in rocky and cratered terrain. The development will be used to search for resources and collect scientific samples in hard-to-reach places.
The project is called MAGGIE (Mars Aerial and Ground Intelligent Explorer), and it is being created by Coflow Jet. MAGGIE’s twin wings are designed to produce higher lift than aircraft used on Earth.
The aircraft can land anywhere NASA finds interesting. Its wings are capable of bending at 90 degrees to create lift, allowing MAGGIE to fly vertically. The wingspan of this aircraft is 7.85 meters.
But to achieve this goal, NASA engineers will have to solve several issues. The fact is that the air density in the atmosphere of Mars is about one percent of that on Earth, which prevents the creation of the lifting force necessary for flight.