Design and Fabrication of the Mars Helicopter Rotor, Airframe, and Landing Gear Systems
The Mars Helicopter is an autonomous 1.8 kg co axial, counter rotating rotorcraft baselined to fly on the Mars 2020 mission to demonstrate aerial mobility on the surface of Mars. In this paper the authors describe the design, development, and fabrication of the rotor system, landing gear system, and auxiliary structures which are being integrated onto the helicopter. The rotor system has a diameter of 1.21 m and consists of the rotor blades and hubs, direct drive brushless propulsion motors, swashplates and linkages, and servos that actuate the swashplate. The landing gear is comprised of four folding composite landing legs and suspension mechanisms that deploy upon egress from the rover. Several test campaigns were carried out on engineering development models in 2017/2018, and final assembly and testing of the flight model is expected to be complete by early spring 2019.