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Hey guys, I know I'm a little late to the party, but I wanted to contribute a bit of potentially helpful information.
The original idea posted by Louis sounds similar to NASA's Extreme Access Flyers project. I haven't found much recent information about it (I tried to reference an article from 2015 but apparently users are no longer allowed to post links), but I do know that Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona Beach, Florida is still working with NASA on the project. More specifically, the Engineering Physics Propulsion Lab (EPPL) has been designing systems for UAV propulsion on Mars using compressed CO2.
Also, kind of related, I was wondering if you guys had any advice for me. I am a graduate student at ERAU beginning my thesis designing an optimal control system for a Martian drone that uses both propellers and compressed CO2. However, after doing some initial research of my own (which is how I found this topic actually), I find myself trying to decide between two options for such a system:
1.) Having a compressed air engine that the CO2 is fed into that can power the propellers in tandem with an electric motor and will recharge the batteries as the compressed air engine runs, just like a hybrid car works,
2.) Simply having both propellers and cold gas thrusters that work together to produce thrust and attitude correction.
Do you have any thoughts on either system? The goal is to maximize flight time (or flight distance I suppose, but one would assume that the two are closely related).
Hope the information above helps!
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