Chinese scientists developing Mars drone that can roll and fly across Red Planet (video)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
A Chinese research team is developing a lightweight robotic drone with a targeted special mission scenario of Mars exploration.
The air-ground dual-purpose unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) weighs only 10.6 ounces (300 grams), equivalent to the weight of an apple. The development team is at the School of Astronautics (SoA) of the Harbin Institute of Technology.
Seen as showing promising potential in future Mars science work, the UAV can take off at any time, traverse obstacles, and boasts superb endurance, reports state-owned China Central Television (CCTV).
"On the ground, it mainly rolls by shifting its center of gravity," said Zhu Yimin, a Ph.D candidate at SoA.
"In the air, it relies on a pair of contra-rotating coaxial rotors, controlled by a steering engine to adjust the forward direction, to control torque and force, ultimately achieving stable flight," Zhu told CCTV.
Related: Will China return Mars samples to Earth before the US does?
The UAV work entails multiple models of air-ground dual-mode robots with different configurations, CCTV reports. These robots move by rolling close to the ground, which reduces energy consumption, and can achieve a flight endurance time of more than six times that of traditional drones of the same size.
According to Zhang Lixian, a professor within the SoA, the hope is that the aerial vehicle can show off its long endurance and observational abilities on Mars.
"Our second goal is for such machines to be suitable for construction in many underground spaces and for exploring unknown underground spaces. We also need robotic means for inspection and environmental detection. We have now materialized all these functions," said Zhang.
RELATED STORIES:
— How NASA's Ingenuity helicopter opened the Mars skies to exploration
— China moves Mars sample-return launch up 2 years, to 2028
— The moon, Mars, asteroids and Jupiter: China reveals ambitious space exploration plans
The Chinese aerial drone work is taking a different approach than NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter. That history-making autonomous aircraft operated for nearly three years of flight on Mars, making 72 flights within Jezero Crater.
Dispatched by NASA's Perseverance rover, Ingenuity weighed 4 pounds on Earth (1.81 kilograms), which is equivalent to 1.5 pounds (0.68 kg) on Mars.
Ingenuity first lifted off the Martian surface on April 19, 2021 and made its last flight on Jan. 18, 2024. On Flight 72, rotor blades on the craft were damaged during landing, permanently grounding the vehicle.
As the first aircraft on another world, Ingenuity flew more than 14 times farther than planned while logging more than two hours of total flight time.
For a video look at the potential Mars craft being developed by China, go here.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
'This felt like fishing.' A NASA astronaut winds up with a spectacular glimpse of the aurora during his first-ever attempt at a time-lapse
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. I remember the first time I ever caught the Northern Lights on camera – I was photographing the night sky when I was startled to see a pale green 'cloud' on the back of the camera that I couldn't see with my eyes. But NASA astronaut Jonny Kim recently shared his first-ever attempt at taking a time-lapse – and it's quite impressive. The timelapse, shared on the astronaut's social media pages, shows a time-lapse of Earth taken from the International Space Station. The sped-up video starts with city lights and even some flashes of lightning seen from space, but ends with colorful wisps dancing over Southeast Asia and Australia as the Aurora Australis or Southern Lights makes an appearance at the end of the timelapse. Kim notes in the post that he's never shot a time-lapse before, but took some tips from 'Vapor,' Nichole Ayes, a fellow NASA astronaut also aboard the ISS. 'After seeing the result, I told her this felt like fishing,' Kim wrote. 'Prepping the camera, the angle, the settings, the mount, then setting your timer and coming back to hope you got a catch. And after catching my first fish, I think I'm hooked.' As someone who has spent many sleepless nights trying to catch the aurora on camera, I agree with the comparison. Sometimes, I leave with nothing but a few photos of stars. Other times, I leave with some of my favorite landscape images that I've ever taken (plus an adrenaline rush from the chase). Kim arrived on the ISS on April 8 and is expected to spend around eight months aboard. A time-lapse is a series of still images taken at regular intervals, stitched together into a video. The result is a sped-up video, sort of like the opposite of a slow-motion video. (A few commenters missed this fact; the Earth actually isn't spinning as fast as it appears to be in the video.) One of the most common mistakes creatives make when taking their first time lapse is not taking enough shots and ending up with a too short video. A tripod is also a must. For more insight into creating timelapses, read DCW's guide on how to create time-lapses. Or, read about how to photograph the northern lights or what night sky events to photograph this June.


New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Odds of ‘city-killer' asteroid hitting the Moon go up again
A 'city-killer' asteroid that, until a few months ago, was believed to be a threat to Earth is increasingly looking like it could crash into the Moon in 2032. Asteroid 2024 YR4 was discovered on Dec. 27 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope in Río Hurtado, Chile. Advertisement Since its discovery, the asteroid has warranted international attention, jumping to the highest asteroid threat on the Torino Impact Hazard Scale. In February, new ground-based observations dropped those chances of an Earth impact enough that asteroid 2024 YR4 is no longer considered a threat to Earth. The international astronomy community continues to closely watch asteroid 2024 YR4, which is no longer visible through ground-based telescopes until 2028. In May, a team led by Andy Rivkin, with Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland, used the James Webb Space Telescope's (JWST) Near-Infrared Camera to hone in on 2024 YR4. Advertisement 4 Asteroid 2024 YR4 has a slight chance of hitting the Moon in 2032. NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/R. Proctor / SWNS 4 An animation showing the asteroid passing the Earth and heading too the Moon. AP JWST data, along with expert analysis from NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies, have refined the asteroid's orbit, increasing the chances of a crash with the Moon on Dec. 22, 2032, from 3.8% to 4.3%. In February, the odds of a Moon impact were about 1.7%. Advertisement However, NASA said if the asteroid does collide with the Moon, it will not alter its orbit. The Moon is covered in crater impacts from other space collisions. 4 The international astronomy community continues to closely watch asteroid 2024 YR4, which is no longer visible through ground-based telescopes until 2028. NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/R. Proctor / SWNS 4 The James Webb Telescope captured images of the asteroid in the darkness of space. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Andy Rivkin (APL) Advertisement Previous observations by JWST helped determine 2024 YR4 is about 200 feet wide, or about the height of a 15-story building, Rivkin wrote in an April blog post for NASA. Asteroid 2024 YR4 has dipped behind the Sun and beyond Webb's view for now.


Business Upturn
3 hours ago
- Business Upturn
I regret some of my posts about President Trump: Elon Musk expresses regret
By Aditya Bhagchandani Published on June 11, 2025, 12:44 IST In what appears to be a shift in tone, Elon Musk on Tuesday posted that he regrets some of his recent remarks about President Donald Trump, saying, 'They went too far.' I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 11, 2025 This comes just days after Trump addressed their ongoing feud, stating he wished Musk 'very well' and suggesting the tech mogul might be seeking a conversation. In a gesture that caught attention, Musk had responded with a heart emoji on X (formerly Twitter), sparking speculation about a possible reconciliation. Tensions between the two escalated last week after Musk called Trump's proposed 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' a 'pork-filled abomination' and accused the President of suppressing Jeffrey Epstein-related files. The latter post, which Musk later deleted, reportedly infuriated Trump, who retaliated with harsh criticism and even threatened to sever government contracts with Musk-led firms. The feud intensified when Musk countered by threatening to halt NASA-linked SpaceX missions and claimed Trump would have lost the 2024 election without his support. He also floated the possibility of impeachment. However, Musk's latest message—posted at 12:34 PM on June 11—marks a notable departure from his confrontational stance, possibly signaling the beginning of a de-escalation. While no official conversation has been confirmed, both camps appear to be softening their positions, leaving the door open for future dialogue. Aditya Bhagchandani serves as the Senior Editor and Writer at Business Upturn, where he leads coverage across the Business, Finance, Corporate, and Stock Market segments. With a keen eye for detail and a commitment to journalistic integrity, he not only contributes insightful articles but also oversees editorial direction for the reporting team.