The propulsion concept is a rigid wingsail, mounted perpendicular to the base that can rotate via an electric motor about its mean aerodynamic center to produce a lift (thrust) vector at any orientation, depending on the direction of the wind.
The wing also provides a more stable surface on which to mount the solar cells used to power instruments on the rover.
A symmetric flat airfoil is much easier to control at the sacrifice of a small amount of lift.
Construction of the wing is standard spar, rib, and skin, using materials appropriate for the corrosive high temperature environment.

At 5.5 m (18 ft) wide, the rover is stable on the surface, and the NASA GRC Team estimates that in order to prevent a roll-over caused by wind gusts, the system will incorporate sensors so that a sustained wind gust of 2.39 m/s (7.8 ft/s) or more will be recognized by its meteorology suite, and would give enough time to slack the sail by rotating it to a zero-lift position perpendicular to the wind.

The diameter of the aeroshell sets the length of the wingsail to 3.10 m (10.2 ft), its area at 12 m² (130 sq ft) and a height of 5.44 m (17.8 ft) above the ground.
For launch, the wingsail is folded into three sections for storage in the aeroshell, and it is deployed after the parachute descent and landing on its three wheels.
The propulsion concept is a rigid wingsail, mounted perpendicular to the base that can rotate via an electric motor about its mean aerodynamic center to produce a lift (thrust) vector at any orientation, depending on the direction of the wind. The wing also provides a more stable surface on which to mount the solar cells used to power instruments on the rover. A symmetric flat airfoil is much easier to control at the sacrifice of a small amount of lift. Construction of the wing is standard spar, rib, and skin, using materials appropriate for the corrosive high temperature environment.
At 5.5 m (18 ft) wide, the rover is stable on the surface, and the NASA GRC Team estimates that in order to prevent a roll-over caused by wind gusts, the system will incorporate sensors so that a sustained wind gust of 2.39 m/s (7.8 ft/s) or more will be recognized by its meteorology suite, and would give enough time to slack the sail by rotating it to a zero-lift position perpendicular to the wind.
The diameter of the aeroshell sets the length of the wingsail to 3.10 m (10.2 ft), its area at 12 m² (130 sq ft) and a height of 5.44 m (17.8 ft) above the ground. For launch, the wingsail is folded into three sections for storage in the aeroshell, and it is deployed after the parachute descent and landing on its three wheels.
Zephyr (rover)