Mars has been explored by orbiting, lander, and surface vehicles for many years. However, the first flight of a drone in an extra-terrestrial atmosphere took place in 2021. The aerodynamics applied to these flights in other bodies of the solar system emerges as a discipline to be taken into account within the context of space missions.

This course addresses the aerodynamic fundamentals necessary to understand the design of airfoils of fixed-wing aircraft, as well as the flight of rotary-wing vehicles in different atmospheres other than land. The study of profiles and wings to adapt them to the atmosphere of Mars, Venus, Titan or Uranus, and the principles of equivalence and scalability of prototype tests on Earth are addressed.

Programme

  • Introduction to aerodynamics
  • Atmospheres in other bodies from the Solar System
  • Design of profiles and adaptation to each flight environment
  • Wing design and adaptation to each flight environment
  • Operating principles of rotary wings and adaptation to each flight environment
  • Scalability of ground tests
  • Practice: prototype tunnel tests

Software

XFLR5

Instructor

Fermín Navarro Medina and Guillermo Rey

Language

English/Spanish