MANASSAS, Va. --- Having demonstrated its capabilities on a vast array of flight vehicle applications here on Earth, Athena Technologies' patented flight control algorithms may be used to fly a planetary research aircraft on Mars. NASA announced on Friday it has chosen Athena client NASA Langley Research Center of Hampton, Virginia as one of four team finalists for the first Mars Scout mission, planned for launch in 2007.
Langley's ARES (Aerial Regional-scale Environmental Survey) aircraft offers to provide the first in situ measurements of the near-surface atmospheric chemistry within the Mars planetary-boundary layer, thereby providing critical clues to the chemical evolution on the planet, climate history, and potential biological activity.
To reach this level of the competition, the Langley team recently demonstrated an experimental prototype of a planetary research aircraft called the MarsFlyer. The MarsFlyer, which was launched from a helium balloon and released from an altitude of 100,900 feet, was successfully controlled by Athena Technologies GuideStar flight control system.
Athena's patented "Feedback LTI'zation" algorithms, which provided the guidance and control for the MarsFlyer, will now be utilized on the ARES program.
"Athena's feedback LTI'zation has been highly successful as the core technology underlying our flight control algorithms that have been applied to both manned and unmanned vehicles. They cover the spectrum from UCAV, to low speed, high altitude, GA and VTOL," said Dr. David Vos, Athena's Chief Technology Officer. "The Earth MarsFlyer flights this past fall once again demonstrated the algorithms in a demanding and uncertain environment, and we look forward to the challenge presented by actual flight on Mars."
