CMU's autonomous helicopter explores new territory

In the summer of 1998, several members of Carnegie Mellon University's (CMUs) Autonomous Helicopter Project team joined NASA on a multidisciplinary expedition to the Canadian Arctic's Haughton Crater. NASA was willing to travel to such a remote corner of the globe because of its similarity to an even more remote locale-Mars. Researchers are studying the 23-million-year-old meteorite impact crater in the hope of learning more about Mars's environment. While there, they also tested a number of technologies that will enable future exploration of Mars, including CMU's autonomous helicopter.