Produced by: Tarun Mishra
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is developing a unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for Mars exploration, inspired by NASA's successful Ingenuity quadcopter.
ISRO's rotorcraft, currently in the conceptual stage, will carry multiple instruments for aerial exploration of Mars.
The UAV, equipped with the Martian Boundary Layer Explorer (Marble), will carry various payloads to profile the Martian atmosphere, including sensors for temperature, humidity, pressure, wind speed, electric field, and dust aerosols.
ISRO's confidence in developing a Martian helicopter has been bolstered by the achievements of NASA's Ingenuity, which completed an unexpected 72 flights on the Red Planet.
Scientist Jayadev Pradeep from ISRO's Space Physics Laboratory revealed information about Marble during a webinar, emphasizing its role in conducting high-resolution vertical profiling and in-situ measurements on Mars.
ISRO management is considering including the UAV as part of a follow-up mission to Mangalyaan, which aims to land on the Martian surface.
India's inaugural Mars mission, Mangalyaan, concluded its mission in 2022 after nearly a decade in orbit around Mars, providing valuable insights into the planet's surface features and atmosphere.
ISRO Chief S Somanath highlighted the mission's accomplishments, including capturing full-disc images of Mars and generating a comprehensive atlas of the planet with the onboard colour camera.