NASA's Ingenuity helicopter took its final flight on January 18, 2024, but it proved that flight on Mars was indeed possible, flying 72 times before being permanently grounded by a broken rotor. NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) has now approved funding for a proposed Ingenuity successor, the Mars Aerial and Ground Global Intelligent Explorer or MAGGIE.
From NASA:
MAGGIE is a compact fixed wing aircraft with ultra-high productivity efficiency powered by solar energy to fly in the Martian atmosphere with vertical take-off/landing (VTOL) capability, which is enabled by advanced deflected slipstream technology with CoFlow Jet (CFJ). The cruise Mach number of MAGGIE is 0.25 with a cruise lift coefficient CL of 3.5, nearly an order of magnitude higher than conventional subsonic aircraft to overcome the low density of the Martian atmosphere.
As seen in this concept video by CoFlow Jet, MAGGIE has a radically different look than Ingenuity, with an innovative new VTOL design.
Potential missions for MAGGIE include:
…(a) study of the origin and timing of the Martian core dynamo from the weak magnetic fields found in the large impact basins, a regional investigation of the source of methane signals detected by the Tunable Laser Spectrometer on the Mars Science Laboratory in Gale crater, and mapping of subsurface water ice at high resolution in the mid-latitudes where it has been observed from orbit.
The proposed craft will have a range of 179km on a fully charged battery, so it has enormous potential for exploring new regions of the red planet.
