Aerial view of Mars
Feature

China’s MarsBirds tap America’s Ingenuity

By Paul Marks

May 2024

Spaceflight labs in China have devised concepts for Martian rotorcraft, including a quadcopter and an octocopter capable of scouting terrain and gathering samples. The designs could figure into whether China beats the U.S. in the quest to be first to deliver bits of Mars to Earth. Paul Marks analyzed the scientific papers.

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Soldier shooting a coaxial drone from a grenade launcher
Engineering Notebook

Grenade-launched drones

By Keith Button

May 2024

U.S. researchers want to figure out how to make rotorcraft drones that can be folded up and launched from the standard-issue grenade launchers carried by many U.S. and allied troops. Keith Button has the story.

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