Planetary Flight:
Design of the Mars Airplane

Real Player

Quick Time Animation

A fiberglass model of a supersonic Mars plane

A model of a subsonic propellor Mars plane

This special Aerospace Team Online event will feature a forum and a webcast.

The forum was held May 18 - 23, 2001.

Steve Smith and Peter Gage, co-authors of Planetary Flight, will answer questions in the forum regarding Mars Airplane Design.

View the archive.

The webcast was held Tuesday, May 22, 2001 at 10 AM PDT - 1 PM EDT. Andrew Hahn, an Aerospace Researcher here at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, will host the webcast. His specialty is conceptual airplane design. Additionally, he worked on a Mars Airplane design.

Students will be able to ask Andrew questions. Be sure to read Andrew's journals and chat archives which are linked to his biography.

View the archive
Archive for the slower computer

Slides of airplane designs that accompany the presentation (Click on slide to see full sized)

Planetary Flight covers atmospheric and non-atmospheric flight as it pertains to designing an aircraft to fly in the Mars atmosphere.

The classroom materials included in the "Teachers Edition" section provide a problem based learning approach and demonstrates how these materials can be integrated into a 5-12 curriculum.

Instructional Objectives / Standards

Research & Preparation for Event

Research and preparation are strongly encouraged prior to participating in the webcast and chat.

• Read featured expert(s) profile(s) and field journals.
• Background Information under Supporting Instructional Materials below

Supporting Educational Materials