Many health problems are faced by astronauts who spend significant amounts of time in space. But perhaps one of the most insidious is the danger to their mental health. In particular, a prolonged sense of loneliness that could crop up as part of a long-term deep space mission could have dire consequences. A recent paper from Matthieu Guitton, the editor-in-chief of the journal Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Humans and a researcher at the CERVO Brain Research Center in Quebec, proposes one potential solution to that risk - social robots.

Radiation is a commonly cited risk to human health during long-term expeditions, but the operation of a person's actual body in low gravity is also a concern. Plenty of studies have noted changes in astronauts' decision-making capabilities and tracked physiological changes in their brains. Since astronauts are some of the most highly trained people in the world, with extreme selection criteria, they generally seem able to weather that storm, but what happens when space flight becomes more ubiquitous, and people who are not as mentally well-prepared start to participate? 

Robots are already a key part of exploration activities, as Fraser discusses.

The lack of general social interaction can exacerbate those problems. In many space missions, only a few people can interact with each other. As missions get farther into space, the light lag in communication will make it more difficult to talk to anyone not in a person's immediate proximity, which limits overall social interaction, and limited social interaction itself can lead to poor mental health. So, why not simply increase the number of people to interact with but not have them take up pesky resources like food, water, and air? Can a robot truly fulfill the need for human social interaction to a point where it can reverse the isolation effects of long-term spaceflight? Dr. Guitton seems to think so.

Robots are commonly used throughout space exploration. Whether flying above the red planet or moving large installations around the ISS, robots play a central role in our modern concept of what it means to explore space. They are also becoming increasingly common on Earth, and one particular branch, that of "social robotics," is gaining increased interest due to the proliferation of seemingly human-level communication skills of some large language models.

However, most of those language models don't have a physical presence - at least not yet. That might change in the future, but Dr. Guitton thinks it is a critical feature of any robot intended to help deal with the isolation on long space missions. He points to "standard social interactions," like sitting down and talking to someone, as a key feature in the social lives of humans. Interacting with a disembodied AI, even through voice chat over a computer, doesn't have the same emotional impact.

Robots can also replace humans in a lot of dangerous settings, as Fraser discusses.

Having a physical "embodiment" begs the question—does the robot have to look human for this support structure to work? Not necessarily. In the paper, he says, "Human-like design does not necessarily mean having a fully humanoid robot. Indeed, some specific human-like features relevant for social interactions could be sufficient to induce a marked effect." 

The paper doesn't go into detail about the psychological impact of being stuck in a spaceship with a semi-humanoid robot that falls directly into the uncanny valley. But with our current level of technology, that would be the most likely outcome if we were to try to produce a physical manifestation of the type of social robot described in the paper. As robots become better at mimicking actual human features and materials improve to allow them to do so, the risk of falling into that valley decreases.

Testing the types of interactions necessary to prove the efficacy of such a robot would be difficult as well, as there are ethical questions regarding whether it's appropriate to potentially harm someone's mental health better to understand the effects of human/robot interaction. Eventually, there will be more of that interaction going on, and Dr. Guitton has been leading the charge in adapting that interaction to benefit those involved in space exploration for over a decade now. That is a concept any scientific enthusiast can get behind.

Learn More:

• Matthieu J. Guitton - Robots as social companions for space exploration
• UT - What if we’re truly alone?
• UT - MIT Claims they are Programming Humanoid Robots to help Explore Mars. But we all Know It’s Cylons!
• UT - An Astronaut Will Be Controlling Several Robots on Earth… from Space

Could microbes survive in the permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) of the Moon? This is what a recent study presented at the 56^th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference hopes to address as a team of researchers from the United States and Canada investigated the likelihood of long-term survival for microbes in the PSR areas of the Moon, which are craters located at the poles that don’t see sunlight due to the Moon’s small axial tilt. This study has the potential to help researchers better understand unlikely locations where they could find life as we know it throughout the solar system.

Here, Universe Today discusses this incredible research with Dr. John Moores, who is an associate professor in the Centre for Research in Earth and Space Science at York University and lead author of the study, regarding the motivation behind the study, significant results, how these findings could influence human exploration to the PSRs, possible contamination from human exploration, and how any microbes could have arrived at the PSRs. Therefore, what was the motivation behind the study?

“A few years ago in 2019, I participated in a study looking at the potential for the Moon to preserve microbial contamination on spacecraft, led by University of Florida researcher Dr. Andrew Schuerger,” Dr. Moores tells Universe Today. “At the time, we did not consider the PSRs because of the complexity of modelling the ultraviolet radiation environment here. However, in the years since, a former student of mine, Dr. Jacob Kloos at the University of Maryland, had developed a sophisticated illumination model. Furthermore, with the renewed interest in PSR exploration, we decided to take another look at these regions and realized we had all the pieces of the puzzle we needed to understand their ability to preserve terrestrial microbial contamination.”

For the study, the researchers conducted a series of models to ascertain if the reduced amount of ultraviolet (UV) radiation and increased temperatures within the PSRs could enable the possible survival of microorganisms within two PSR craters, Shackleton and Faustini. The researchers chose these two craters based on previous studies involving the modeling of light entering the craters and both craters are also current landing site targets for the upcoming Artemis missions.

As noted, the lunar PSRs are devoid of sunlight due to the Moon’s axial tilt, which is approximately 1.5 degrees with respect to Sun. For context, the Earth’s axial tilt is approximately 23.5 degrees with respect to the Sun, resulting in the seasons we experience as Earth orbits the Sun. As a result from this small axial tilt, certain lunar PSRs crater like Shackleton and Faustini have not received sunlight in potentially billions of years. While the Moon lacks an atmosphere and is exposed to the vacuum of space, this creates very cold pockets that the researchers propose could preserve microbes for long periods of time. Therefore, what are the most significant results from this study?

“In space, microbes are typically killed by high heat and ultraviolet radiation,” Dr. Moores tells Universe Today. “However, the PSRs are very cold and very dark and, as a result, they are one of the most protective environments in the solar system for the kinds of microbes that are typically present on spacecraft. To be clear, those microbes cannot metabolize, replicate or grow here, but they likely remain viable for decades until their spores are killed by the effects of vacuum. The organic molecules that make up their cells likely would persist far longer.”

As noted, the lunar PSRs are currently targeted landing sites for the upcoming NASA Artemis program, most notably Shackleton, due to the potential pockets of water ice that are trapped within the PSR craters that future astronauts could use for water, fuel, and oxygen. However, all space missions run the risk of bringing unwanted microbes to the target location, thus potentially and unnecessarily contaminating an otherwise pristine location devoid of microbes. This could result in faulty data being collected and inaccurate results after analyzing the data, potentially leading to inaccurate findings regarding finding life beyond Earth.

This is especially true for human missions to the Moon, as humans are naturally dirty creatures that carry a myriad of microbes that could travel with them to the Moon. Thus, whatever microbes that could exist within the PSRs could become influenced by human microbes, possibly killing them off.

To combat this, the NASA Planetary Protection office is tasked with overseeing that outgoing spacecraft are sterilized and clean of microbes prior to launch but also tasked with ensuring returned spacecraft did not carry unwanted microbes from outside the Earth. Therefore, how can the findings from this study influence human exploration in lunar PSRs?

Dr. Moores tells Universe Today, “While we can clean robotic spacecraft fairly well, it is more difficult to decontaminate equipment and spacesuits used in human exploration. As a result, humans walking into the PSRs will likely carry considerably more contamination with them, some of which will be left behind and be preserved far longer than anywhere else on the moon.”

Additionally, the study notes that “care should be taken in their exploration” regarding the PSRs, but is this referring to planetary protection?

Dr. Moores tells Universe Today, “It is less a question of planetary protection than of preserving the PSRs in as close to a pristine state as possible for future scientific analyses. The question then is to what extent does this contamination matter? This will depend on the scientific work being done within the PSRs. One possible goal is to retrieve samples of water ice from within the PSRs to better understand their origins and how they came to be found here. Part of that analysis could include looking at organic molecules present in the ice that are known to occur in other places, for instance within comets. That analysis will be easier if contamination from terrestrial sources is minimized.”

If there are microbes at the lunar PSRs, the question then becomes how they arrived there. Given the heavily-craters surface of the Moon, they could have arrived from an impacting body from elsewhere in the solar system, or beyond. However, humans have also sent a number of spacecraft that have impacted the lunar surface, including the Ranger spacecraft that occurred leading up to the Apollo missions, but these spacecraft crashed near the Moon’s equator and far from the poles.

In 2009, NASA’s Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission to the Moon intentionally crashed its Centaur upper stage into Cabeus crater, which is a PSR crater located approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the lunar south pole, with the goal of measuring the amount of water produced from the ejecta plume. But, how could microbes have arrived in lunar PSRs and what can this teach us about the Moon’s formation and evolution?

“The chance that there is already terrestrial microbial contamination in the PSRs is low but not zero,” Dr. Moores tells Universe Today. “Several spacecraft have impacted within or near the PSRs. Though they all did so at high speed, past research by others has suggested that small numbers of spores can survive simulated impacts into regolith-like materials. If any microbes survived those impacts, they would have been widely dispersed.”

What new discoveries about potential microbes living on the Moon will researchers make in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!

• As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!

What can a sample return mission from Jupiter’s volcanic moon, Io, teach scientists about planetary and satellite (moon) formation and evolution? This is what a recent study presented at the 56^th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference hopes to address as an international team of more than two dozen scientists discussed the benefits and challenges of a mission to Io with the goal of sampling its volcanic plumes that eject from its surface on a regular basis.

Here, Universe Today discusses this incredible research with Aanu Adeloye, who is a PhD Candidate in Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and lead author of the study, regarding the motivation behind the study, significant takeaways, next steps for making a sample return a reality, and the importance of returning Io samples to Earth. Therefore, what was the motivation behind the study?

“This study was sponsored by the Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) at the California Institute of Technology as part of a two-part workshop series titled ‘Sample Return from All across the Solar System’,” Adeloye tells Universe Today. “The primary objective was to evaluate both the scientific case for and the feasibility of returning samples from the surface, atmosphere, or plumes of diverse planetary bodies—from Mercury to Kuiper Belt Objects beyond Pluto’s orbit. Through this workshop, we developed a prioritized list of solar system targets for sample return missions over the coming decades, based on expected scientific yield and technological readiness. Io emerged as one of the key targets on this list.”

Image of Io’s nightside and dayside taken by NASA’s Juno spacecraft.

(Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Image processing by Emma Wälimäki © CC BY)

For the study, the researchers discussed the reasons behind choosing Io for their sample return mission, vital questions that returned samples could answer about volcanism and Io’s formation and evolution, the mission design, and the scientific impact on the planetary science community. The researchers emphasized how a sample return mission to Io could build off previous spacecraft missions to the Jovian (Jupiter) system, including Galileo, New Horizons (flyby en route to Pluto), and Juno (currently active).

Potential questions a sample return mission could address include Io’s geologic and isotopic composition, plume source and composition, geologic similarities to Europa, and Io’s interaction with Jupiter’s massive magnetic field. For mission design, the researchers propose a fast-moving spacecraft that would travel through the plumes while collecting samples, highlighting the importance of not needing to land on the surface. They estimate the total mission length from launch to return would be approximately 9.4 years based on proposed propulsion technologies. Finally, the researchers emphasized how a sample return mission could help planetary scientists gain greater insight into planetary formation and evolution, specifically Jupiter and its moons. Therefore, what were the most significant takeaways from the study?

“Io stands out as the most volcanically active body in our solar system, boasting hundreds of active volcanoes that emit plumes of gas and dust reaching heights of up to 400 km [250 miles] and spanning widths as large as 1500 km [930 miles],” Adeloye tells Universe Today. “Positioned at the boundary between the outer and inner Solar System, Io occupies a unique location that makes it an ideal target for sample return missions. Analyzing samples from Io promises to shed light on many enduring questions about the origins and evolution of the Solar System.”

NASA missions typically take years, and sometimes decades, to go from a concept to returning relevant scientific data. They are typically designated specific mission types based on budget and scope of the mission, including Discovery, New Frontiers, Solar System Exploration, and large strategic missions (formerly called Flagship). This also includes whether the mission will be a flyby, orbiter, lander, or rover. For this Io sample return mission, the researchers have designated it as a flyby since it will fly through Io’s plumes without stopping and returning to Earth with the collected samples.

Image of plumes erupting from Io’s surface taken by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft in June 1997.

(Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona)

The NASA selection process for each mission typically consists of several phases involving concept, designs, testing hardware in a laboratory or ground setting, re-designs, more tests for specific systems, integrating all systems together, more tests, launch, cruise, arrival, and finally data collection. Therefore, what are the next steps for making an Io plume sample return mission a reality?

“The Io sample return study evaluated both the scientific rationale and the technological requirements needed for such a mission,” Adeloye tells Universe Today. “We concluded that, with current technology, a ‘New-Frontiers-style’ mission could feasibly perform a fly-through of one of Io’s volcanic plumes to collect gas and dust ejected from its crust. This concept is achievable using today’s propulsion and sample collection systems.”

Adeloye continues, “Furthermore, our ability to develop sophisticated simulations of Io’s plumes will greatly aid in mission planning and execution. Although further improvements in laboratory techniques are needed to optimize the analysis and yield of returned samples, we expect these challenges to be addressed over time. The next step is to assemble a team of leading scientists and engineers to develop and present detailed concept missions to the scientific community.”

As noted, Io is the most volcanically active planetary body in the solar system, boasting hundreds of volcanoes that eject magma and other materials hundreds of kilometers into space. This volcanic activity results from a phenomenon known as tidal heating, which occurs when the gravity of a much larger body tugs on a smaller body, causing it to stretch and compress during the latter’s orbit. In Io’s case, Jupiter’s intense gravity tugs on the much smaller moon as the latter orbits in an elliptical (oval-shaped) pattern, meaning Io is closer to Jupiter at some points during its orbit and farther away at other points.

Io’s volcanic activity was first discovered by Voyager 1 when it and its sister spacecraft, Voyager 2, conducted flybys of Jupiter and its moons in 1979. This was the first time that active volcanism was observed on another planetary body aside from Earth, opening new understandings into the complex and unique nature of the solar system. Therefore, what is the importance of returning Io plume samples to Earth for further analysis?

“Io occupies a unique position within both the Jovian system and the broader Solar System,” Adeloye tells Universe Today. “Its dynamic, transient atmosphere and vigorous volcanic activity continually renew its surface, effectively mitigating the space-weathering effects seen on more geologically inactive bodies. Consequently, Io's distinctive properties have preserved its surface materials in a relatively pristine state. Collecting samples from Io thus offers an unparalleled opportunity to probe early Solar System materials in a way that samples from more weathered bodies cannot.”

What will sampling Io’s volcanic plumes teach scientists about planetary formation and evolution in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!

• As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!

What kinds of scientific instruments can be used to sample the plumes of Enceladus with the goal of identifying the ingredients for life as we know it? This is what a recent study presented at the 56^th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference hopes to address as a team of international researchers investigated how the novel High Ice Flux Instrument (HIFI) could be the next-generation instrument used to sample the plumes of Enceladus while building off the groundbreaking findings from the NASA Cassini spacecraft’s Cosmic Dust Analyzer (CDA). This study has the potential to help scientists and engineers develop new and efficient methodologies for finding life on Enceladus and throughout the solar system.

Here, Universe Today discusses this incredible research with Dr. Sascha Kempf, who is an associate professor in the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder and lead author of the study, regarding the motivation behind the study, significant takeaways, making HIFI a reality, improving upon findings from NASA’s Cassini mission, and what kinds of life he hypothesizes we could find within Enceladus. Therefore, what was the motivation behind the study?

“The design of the instrument is based on the requirements for an astrobiology mission,” Dr. Kempf tells Universe Today. “We need an instrument that can identify tiny amounts of biomarkers like certain amino acids and fatty acids in the plume particle mass spectra. To do this, we need a mass resolution of about 1500 (the CDA mass resolution was 20). Also, because of the high impact rates during an Enceladus flyby, the instrument needs to have a very small, sensitive area. HIFI is meeting all these criteria.”

For context, the CDA measured more than 1000 impacts per second using a sensitive area measuring 36 cm² (5.58 in²). Therefore, the researchers are proposing a smaller sensitive area to prevent overlapping measurements. The researchers also note the low resolution of current instruments in detecting life-bearing ingredients, with examples being carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur (CHNOPS), but can also include key amino acids and organic molecules, with the hypothesized primary components being water and energy.

HIFI is a mass spectrometer, which is a well-known and widely used instrument across a myriad of scientific disciplines to identify specific molecules and particles and their masses. Samples for mass spectrometry can include solid, liquid, or gas, making it the ideal instrument for obtaining samples on space missions. Along with their myriads of Earth-based applications, mass spectrometry has been used on space missions as far back as the Viking program but has since been used on the Huygens probe that landed on Titan as part of the Cassini-Huygens mission. So, what are the most significant takeaways from this study and what are the next steps to make HIFI a reality?

“It’s amazing how we can create such a sophisticated instrument,” Dr. Kempf tells Universe Today. “My team actually built a similar instrument for NASA’s Europa Clipper mission (the Surface Dust Analyzer - SUDA). SUDA has a mass resolution of about 200, which is already pretty impressive for a flight instrument. But HIFI is about 10 times better than SUDA in terms of resolution, which is considered a major challenge for such instruments. We’re planning another round of performance tests, but this time, we’ll be testing it with ice particles. We might ask NASA to fund a flight-like prototype. In any case we’ll propose the instrument to NASA for consideration to be on the payload of a future ocean world mission.”

As noted, HIFI builds off the incredible science conducted by Cassini’s CDA instrument, which successfully identified trace amounts of organic and inorganic molecules that could have originated from hydrothermal vents at the bottom of Enceladus’ vast liquid water ocean. Hydrothermal vents are found on Earth and host several species of single-celled and multicellular organisms, including chemosynthetic bacteria, giant tube worms, deep sea mussels, crabs, shrimp, clams, along with some fish species.

One of the pinnacle discoveries that Cassini made during its years-long mission at Saturn and its many moons was the geyser-like plumes at the south pole of Enceladus, potentially discharging liquid water and other substances from its subsurface ocean. Using its CDA, Cassini flew through the plumes on multiple occasions and measured thousands of dust-sized particles. With its other instruments, including its high-resolution cameras, Cassini successfully imaged and collected data about this mysterious moon which scientists continue to pour over today. But how will HIFI’s findings improve upon Cassini’s findings regarding identifying trace amounts of organic and inorganic molecules and what kinds of life does Dr. Kempf hypothesize we could find within Enceladus?

“Only high-fidelity instruments like HIFI can accurately identify the types and amounts of these species,” Dr. Kempf tells Universe Today. “Cassini basically told us that there are quite a few organic molecules in Enceladus ice grains, but we still don’t know much about them. The subsurface ocean is a prime spot in our solar system to find clues about life. If there’s life in the ocean, we’ll likely find a wide range of amino and fatty acids. The ratio of these acids will tell us if they came from biological activities.”

How will HIFI help determine if Enceladus has the ingredients for life as we know it in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!

• As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!

How can scientists and engineers build off the success of NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter to better explore the Red Planet? This is what a recent study presented at the 56^th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference hopes to address as an aerospace executive with more than two decades of research and engineering experience investigated how a next-generation Mars helicopter could conduct groundbreaking science while delivering peak efficiency and performance. This study has the potential to help scientists and engineers develop new methods for exploring Mars with cost-effective and efficient methods.

Here, Universe Today discusses this study with William Pomerantz, who is the Head of Space Ventures at AeroVironment, regarding the motivation behind the study, enhancing key characteristics of their next-generation Mars helicopter, next steps for making their next-generation Mars helicopter a reality, and how he foresees helicopters evolving to explore Mars. Therefore, what was the motivation behind the study?

“My team at AeroVironment developed Ingenuity in partnership with NASA JPL and it was truly a highlight of all our careers to have been part of such an incredible mission,” Pomerantz tells Universe Today. “Once Ingenuity proved that powered flight was indeed possible on Mars, we began to work on more advanced vehicles. Thanks to Ingenuity, we’ve seen that Mars helicopters can cover ground quickly and can reach areas that are impassable to rovers, so an obvious next step was investigating if helicopters could carry additional payloads. When you can put additional sensors, or robotics systems, or any of a million other things onto a helicopter, all of a sudden, you’ve got a highly mobile, extremely affordable explorer that can do real science. It unlocks an entirely new way of exploring Mars.”

For the study, Pomerantz and his team developed conceptual models for next-generation Mars helicopters, including vehicle mass, payload capacity, flight frequency, flight time, flight range, and power availability for in-flight and non-flight. The researchers conducted several simulations to ascertain the most desirable weight for achieving maximum science with a dedicated suite of instruments. For context, NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter had a total mass of 1.8 kilograms (3.97 pounds), flight range of 300 meters (980 feet), a maximum flight time of 90 seconds per sol, and average approximately 350 watts per flight.

In the end, the researchers determined that a scientific payload of 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) would be sufficient with a total helicopter weight of 6 kilograms (13.23 pounds), flight frequency of every other sol (Martian day), flight time of 150 seconds, flight range of less than 1 kilometer (0.62 miles), along with an in-flight and non-flight power availability of 30 watts and 25 watt-hours per day, respectively. But what steps can be taken to enhance the key characteristics of this next-generation Mars helicopter to accommodate science payloads larger than 1 kilogram?

“Ingenuity didn’t carry any science payloads,” Pomerantz tells Universe Today. ”Researchers certainly got real scientific value from the mission, but essentially everything on board Ingenuity was necessary for the vehicle to fly, rather than being dedicated science instrumentation. That won’t be true of future vehicles. It's possible to get even more payload on a flying vehicle on Mars, but those vehicles start to look quite different. The team at JPL has shared some information about ‘Chopper’, one of their concepts for a much larger vehicle. But those systems require a bigger technological leap; and bigger leaps typically come with more cost and more risk. Our work is more focused on maximizing the value we can get from the leap we’ve already taken with Ingenuity.”

As Universe Today recently discussed with the proposed CoRaLS mission, the process for going from a mission concept to actual hardware and flying in space requires several steps, specifically with NASA’s Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) ranging from 1 to 9. This process often takes several years, and sometimes decades, as it entails countless proposals, designs, meetings, budget outlines, testing, re-designs, more testing, all while keeping NASA in the loop regarding progress in all aspects of the project.

The length of time typically depends on the size and scope of the mission, with larger and more expensive missions typically taking far longer to achieve success. For example, the joint NASA-ESA Cassini-Huygens spacecraft was first proposed in 1982 but didn’t launch until 1997. Therefore, what are the next steps to making this next-generation Mars helicopter a reality?

“Mars helicopters like the ones we’re talking about here, the ones that can carry ~1 kg of payload, are easy to add onto any other mission going to the surface of Mars,” Pomerantz tells Universe Today. “They hardly weigh anything, and they are super affordable. Ingenuity was built in a little over a year (on time and on budget, I might add), so they are also quick to build. There will be plenty of work to do to build the next system, but it’s all designed to stand on the shoulders of what we’ve already done for Ingenuity (and, to an extent, SRH). We don’t need major breakthroughs, we just need to continue to execute as well as we have in the past.”

While Ingenuity didn’t have any scientific payloads, its 72 flights demonstrated that conducting powered flight on another world—and with a fraction of the atmospheric pressure—is achievable, including 72 flights, almost 129 total minutes of flight time, approximately 17 kilometers (11 miles) of travel distance, a maximum ground speed of 10 meters per second (22.4 miles per hour), and achieving a peak altitude of 24 meters (74 feet).

An example of building off the success of Ingenuity includes NASA’s upcoming Dragonfly mission to Titan, which will be a quadcopter designed to “hop” around Titan’s surface to ascertain if Saturn’s largest moon could host the ingredients for life as we know it. Regarding Mars, NASA and other government space agencies, along with the private sector like SpaceX, have big plans for exploring Mars, including the planned Mars Sample Return mission. Eventually, humans hope to step foot on the Red Planet, and having helicopters capable of reaching locations where humans can’t could prove invaluable for the continued exploration of Mars. Therefore, how does Pomerantz foresee helicopters assisting future Mars astronauts?

“When we have human crews on the surface of Mars, I suspect they will arrive essentially with their saddlebags full of helicopters,” Pomerantz tells Universe Today. “Want to inspect your hab unit or your ascent vehicle? A helicopter can do that easily, roof included. Is an astronaut having a medical emergency during an EVA? A helicopter can hover directly overhead, providing real-time video and helping other astronauts locate their crewmate. And remember, helicopters are going to be extremely affordable and extremely low mass compared to almost anything else on a crewed journey. I think the robot-to-human ratio of crewed Mars missions will be fairly high, and helicopters are some of the most likely and most valuable robots to send along.”

For now, Ingenuity remains the only helicopter to conduct a powered flight on another world and next-generation Mars helicopters remain concepts. However, studies like this help drive the discussion of how we can explore Mars with greater efficiency while achieving scientific goals, along with potentially helping future astronauts on Mars. This was demonstrated in the National Geographic’s Mars series where astronauts frequently used helicopters for a variety of purposes to help them survive and build a thriving Mars settlement.

Like the Mars show, humans will likely not be stepping foot on Mars until at least sometime in the 2030s, so there is plenty of time to develop and test new technologies that could prove useful on long-term human missions to the Red Planet. Perhaps future robotic missions could send more advanced helicopters prior to a human mission to ensure their operational and scientific capabilities. Regardless, Ingenuity helped usher in a new era of planetary exploration with the goal of advancing human knowledge of our universe.

“I always like to acknowledge the incredible support that Ingenuity received from the aerospace community and really from the world at large,” Pomerantz tells Universe Today. “What an honor and a privilege it has been for us to be part of a mission that captured hearts all around the world. Ingenuity was sent to Mars as a “technology demonstrator” mission. Well, it demonstrated the technology alright! Now, it’s up to all of us to do interesting things with it. We’re at a fascinating and extremely fun time right now when everyone knows that flight is possible on Mars, but when it’s still such a new idea that people haven’t fully thought through exactly what they could do with flying vehicles. There’s so much to learn and so much to do, and that’s incredibly inspiring.”

What new discoveries about Mars will this next-generation helicopter teach us in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!

• As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!

Missions to Mars and other locations in deep space present numerous challenges, most of which stem from the distances involved. Using conventional propulsion methods (chemical rockets or Hall-effect thrusters) transits to Mars can take six to nine months. This makes the prospect of resupply missions impractical and emergency rescues impossible. On the one hand, multiple efforts are addressing these issues by ensuring that crewed missions are as self-sufficient as possible.

However, efforts are being made to develop advanced propulsion systems that reduce transit times. This includes nuclear propulsion concepts, which NASA began researching again in 2016 for its proposed "Moon to Mars" mission architecture. In a recent paper, two aerospace innovators reviewed key nuclear-electric propulsion concepts, their advantages, and challenges. In the end, they conclude that nuclear propulsion has the potential to revolutionize space exploration and make humanity "multiplanetary."

The study was conducted by Malaya Kumar Biswal M, the Founder and CEO of Acceleron Aerospace Sciences, and Ramesh Kumar V, the Founder and CEO of Grahaa Space. The paper describing their findings was recently presented at the 2025 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2025 LPSC), which took place from March 10th to 14th in Woodlands, Texas. To break it down, long-duration missions to Mars come with many hazards for astronaut health. These include long-term exposure to microgravity, which leads to muscle atrophy, bone density loss, and many other health concerns.

There's also the danger of long-term exposure to solar and cosmic radiation, leading to elevated risks of cancer. As mentioned, the long distances and transit times between Earth and Mars make resupply missions impractical. If astronauts suffer serious injury, it will take far too long to evacuate them. This is why all plans for missions to Mars include proposals for in-situ.-resource utilization (ISRU) and bioregenerative life support systems (BLSS) to reduce dependence on Earth.

However, since all the associated hazards stem from long distances and limited launch windows, efforts are also being made to reduce transit times via advanced propulsion. During the Space Age, NASA and the Soviets studied nuclear propulsion to enable missions to locations beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and the Moon. Since then, research has focused on two primary methods: nuclear-thermal propulsion (NTP) and nuclear-electric propulsion (NEP).

Nuclear-thermal propulsion consists of a nuclear reactor heating hydrogen propellant and channeling it through nozzles to produce acceleration (delta-v). Nuclear-electric propulsion consists of nuclear reactors generating electricity to power a thruster, typically ion or Hall-effect thrusters.

Nuclear Electric Propulsion

However, as Biswal and Kumar indicate in their study, there are also two types of nuclear-electric concepts: Radioisotope Electric Propulsion (REP) and Fission Electric Propulsion (FEP). Whereas REP utilizes the heat generated from the natural radioactive decay of isotopes to produce electricity, FEP relies on nuclear reactors to generate power through controlled nuclear fission reactions. Each has its share of advantages that make it ideally suited to specific mission profiles.

For example, REP systems typically produce about 1 kW of power, sufficient for powering instruments and low-thrust propulsion systems like ion engines. They are known for being compact and reliable, making them ideal for small- to medium-scale missions. They have a proven track record thanks to missions like the Voyager probes and the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers. FEP is scalable, flexible, and more powerful, typically generating 8 to 10 kW. This makes it more suited to long-range exploration of the Main Asteroid Belt and outer Solar System.

Both systems are being researched for future missions to Mars and the outer Solar System. Some notable examples include the Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY (KRUSTY) reactor, developed in 2018 by NASA. This reactor resulted from the Kilopower program to develop reactors that could continuously provide 1 to 10 kW of power for twelve to fifteen years. This reactor would leverage the heat generated by Uranium-235 to generate heat that would power Stirling converters.

The reactor test demonstrated its ability to provide reliable power for extended periods, making it a pivotal milestone in advancing nuclear propulsion and power systems for space missions. These systems are compact and efficient and have many applications, including powering space habitats, life support systems (LSS), and onboard instruments on multiplanetary missions.

Potential Mission Profiles

Biswal and Kumar list several examples of missions a crewed nuclear-electric spacecraft could execute. In all cases, kilowatt reactors can maintain a steady supply of power where solar power is limited or unavailable. This includes lunar surface operations, where solar power is unavailable during 14-day lunar nights. Kilopower reactors are also vital to NASA's plan to create a program of "sustained lunar exploration and development," which includes scientific research, habitation, and mining.

For missions to Mars, fission power could provide reduced transit times and heavier payloads, allowing for greater capability and safety. It could also provide sustainable energy for surface habitats, life support systems, and in-situ resource utilization technologies (ISRU) on Mars. Beyond Mars, fission power systems could enable missions to study the gas giants and their systems of moons—such as astrobiology missions to Europa, Enceladus, Titan, and other "Ocean Worlds."

Beyond the gas giants, nuclear-electric spacecraft could explore the icy bodies and dwarf planets that make up the Kuiper Belt. Fission power would be especially useful given the low-temperature conditions and negligible solar energy available. Forerunner missions like the New Horizons probe have demonstrated the effectiveness of this technology. Lastly, high-power nuclear systems could enable long-duration missions to interstellar space, as exemplified by the Voyager probes.

Limitations

Naturally, nuclear systems also have their share of challenges, which Biswal and Kumar address. These include a higher initial mass compared to traditional systems, which can lead to increased launch weight and higher launch costs. Scaling the technology to higher power levels (>100 kWe) is challenging and may require significant advancements in materials, heat management, and power generation systems before they are ready.

With a nuclear system, there's also the need for radiation shielding and protocols to ensure mission safety. Not only do crews need to be shielded from harmful radiation, but strict safety standards must be maintained when handling nuclear fuel and other hazardous materials. These considerations increase the time, cost, and complexity of mission planning.

Last but not least, nuclear-electrical propulsion has a limited operational history compared to solar power systems, such as Solar-Electric Propulsion (SEP). This increases the overall level of uncertainty and makes the technology seem riskier than conventional methods. Due to their complexity, nuclear-electric systems also require longer development times and time-consuming fixes.

Nevertheless, Biswal and Kumar believe the pros far outweigh the cons, and some of these challenges can be overcome. For instance, chemical rockets have a greater thrust-to-weight ratio, making them an option for initial deployment. Assembling the spacecraft in orbit is also a possibility, especially with the assistance of the International Space Station (ISS) and its proposed successors.

And given the range of possible missions REP and FEP propulsion could enable, the investment and challenges are certainly worth it. In addition to advancing exploration, this technology could lead to passenger missions, ferrying settlers to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. With a human presence on these bodies, humanity will have become a "multiplanetary" species.

Further Reading: 

• USRA