Simulated Martian Operation to Gauge Suitability for Long-Range Control 

Red Cat subsidiary Skypersonic has delivered its rover equipment for a simulated Mars expedition at the Johnson Space Center. 

The rover package includes the rover itself, the necessary support hardware, and a drone system that will allow the crew of NASA’s Simulated Mars Missions program to remotely explore Martianesque terrain on Earth. The 1,700 sq ft Mars habitat resides at the Center's range in Houston, Texas.

As a part of the broader sim project, crew members under Simulated Mars Missions CHAPEA will spend a year living and working in a habitat designed and built to simulate life on a Martian colony. Skypersonic's drones and rover will be tested somewhere sufficiently mountainous on earth to assess their readiness, controlled from afar by Houston personnel. Last August, Skypersonic aided in testing their drones on the volcanic, Italian slopes of Mount Etna. Their rover made a fine showing, operating within the GPS dead zone to no ill effect. 

“This recent delivery is the latest milestone in our five-year contract with NASA to provide drone and rover hardware, software, and support to the Simulated Mars Missions,” said Skypersonic CEO Giuseppe Santangelo. "We look forward to working closely with the Simulated Mars Missions crews in the coming years to develop and test the prototype of the first drones and rovers to be used by humans on Mars. The challenges are great – extremely thin atmosphere, dramatically cold temperatures, a largely unknown environment – but I am confident we will prevail and advance the science of our industry in the process."

FMI: www.skypersonic.net