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Explanation: Solar-powered, remotely piloted, and flying at about 25 miles per hour, NASA's Helios aircraft, is pictured above at 10,000 feet in skies northwest of Kauai, Hawaii on August 13. This ultralight propeller driven aircraft, essentially a flying wing with 14 electric engines, was built by AeroVironment Inc. Covered with solar cells, Helios' impressive 247 foot wide wing exceeds the wing span and even overall length of a Boeing 747 jet airliner. Climbing during daylight hours, the prototype aircraft ultimately reached an altitude just short of 100,000 feet, breaking records for non-rocket powered flight. Helios is intended as a technology demonstrator, but regular, long-duration flights at that altitude could be used for environmental monitoring missions and, communications relays. In the extremely thin air 100,000 feet above Earth's surface, the flight of Helios also simulates conditions for winged flight in the atmosphere of Mars.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: solar power - aircraft - Mars
Publications with words: solar power - aircraft - Mars
See also:
- APOD: 2025 July 15 B Collapse in Hebes Chasma on Mars
- APOD: 2025 July 6 B The Spiral North Pole of Mars
- APOD: 2025 June 29 B Dark Sand Cascades on Mars
- APOD: 2025 June 22 B A Berry Bowl of Martian Spherules
- APOD: 2025 June 15 B Two Worlds One Sun
- Perseverance Selfie with Ingenuity
- Deimos Before Sunrise