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Atmospheric Flight
Summing Up Atmospheric Flight
So you see from this research that there are so many things
to think about before you begin actually designing an airplane to fly within
the atmosphere of Mars! You have learned a lot already about what it takes
to make a vehicle work to carry useful payloads in the atmosphere. You have
seen how the differences between the Earth's atmosphere and Mars' atmosphere
will greatly change the way aircraft need to be designed in order to fly
on Mars. The four forces are all affected by these differences in atmospheres.
You now understand that an aircraft can move through the atmosphere
and get additional lift from the fluid motion of air around it.
Moving an aircraft through the air molecules creates airflow. This airflow
around the wings generates extra lift because of the dynamic pressure
(lower air pressure over the wing and greater air pressure under the wing).
Wings are specially shaped to generate a large amount of lift while keeping
the airflow around it smooth as it closely follows the shape of the wing
(attached airflow). Lift is needed to offset the weight, the effect
of gravity.
There is always resistance or drag on any aircraft as it moves through
the atmosphere. The wings even tough they are generating lift also create
drag. Extra drag is created when an aircraft flies near to or faster
than the speed of sound (at transonic and supersonic speeds). Most of
the time aircraft are designed with wings that generate as little drag
as possible. Sometimes depending upon what the airplane's mission is,
it is worth the extra drag to design the wings a certain way.
Drag forces must be overcome by engines (propulsion systems) that create
thrust. Thrust is created by pushing some of the surrounding atmosphere
back with greater velocity, or by adding extra material with high velocity
to the atmosphere. Our Earth-flight propulsion systems need a greater
amount of oxygen and a higher density of air molecules than what is within
the atmosphere of Mars. An aircraft designer must give much thought to
the atmosphere of Mars when designing a propulsion system for thrust on
Mars.
From buoyancy to the four forces to atmospheric differences, many factors
must be considered before actually designing an aircraft to fly through
the atmosphere of Mars. After careful consideration of all the factors
presented in this and other sections of this Web site, work with your
team members to begin the design process.
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