NASA test supersone rotorbladen voor toekomstige Marsvliegtuigen

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has successfully tested advanced rotor blades that exceeded the sound barrier in simulated Martian conditions, reaching speeds of Mach 1.08 during 137 test runs. These rotors are designed for the 2028 SkyFall mission, which will deploy aircraft capable of carrying heavier scientific payloads to Mars than the previous Ingenuity helicopter. The extreme speed is necessary because Mars' thin atmosphere—only 1% as dense as Earth's—requires near-supersonic rotor speeds to generate sufficient lift for flight.