Capabilities of Mars Helicopters Using Optimized Rotors

The Rotor Optimization for the Advancement of Mars eXploration (ROAMX) project has demonstrated that rotor designs optimized for the Mars aerodynamic regime can provide substantial improvements in aerodynamic efficiency relative to heritage designs. This paper
evaluates the vehicle-level performance implications of these improvements using the NASA Design and Analysis of Rotorcraft (NDARC) tool. Performance predictions for Ingenuity class and Mars Science Helicopter (MSH)-class rotorcraft are generated using ROAMX rotor aerodynamic inputs and are compared against configurations using the Ingenuity rotor and the original MSH rotor design. Parametric studies are conducted to investigate the trade between increasing payload mass and resulting changes in vehicle range and hover time, including the effects of rotor solidity and rotor type. The results show that ROAMX rotor designs enable significant increases in payload capability and operational range across both vehicle classes. These findings demonstrate how ROAMX rotor performance gains translate directly into enhanced mission capability at the vehicle level and provide a quantitative foundation for future Mars rotorcraft designs.