JPL designing new helicopter drone for Mars Rover

LA CANADA-FLINTRIDGE, Calif. (KABC) -- Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers are working on creating a helicopter drone that could be added to NASA's next generation of Mars Rovers.

They want the 2-pound, twin-rotor helicopter to scout out the Martian terrain.

"This would be the eyes of the rover, flying ahead of the rover, looking for good science places and looking for safe paths to drive the rover," said Bob Balaram, who runs JPL's Mobility and Robotic Systems program.

The final version will have to fly in practically no air.

"On Mars, the atmosphere is very thin, it's only 1 percent of that of Earth, so we have to spin the blades fast," Balaram said.

The helicopter also has to survive the Martian atmosphere, which hosts extreme radiation and temperatures as low as minus 150 degrees.

Then, it will need to fly on its own.

"We are very far away from Earth," Balaram said. "Radiowaves travel at the speed of light and it can take 20 minutes to go each way since Mars is so far, so it has to be fully autonomous and be able to make its own decisions."

Given all that, the helicopter drone will only be able to fly for two to three minutes a day.

"In those two to three minutes, we can go well over half a mile," Balaram said.

JPL hopes to get their helicopter on board NASA's next Rover mission to Mars in 2020, but it's fate is still up in the air.