[grumpygresh]

Mars hardly has an atmosphere, how does the helicopter get lift?

Helicopters can’t operate high in atmosphere on earth

https://www.aircraftcompare.com/blog/how-high-can-helicopter-fly/

[Flick Lives]

Mars hardly has an atmosphere, how does the helicopter get lift?

Helicopters can’t operate high in atmosphere on earth

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It is pretty amazing an aircraft can be designed to operate where the air is 1% of earth sea level atmospheres. One advantage on Mars the gravity is only 40% that of Earth, so the 4 pound copter is under 2 pounds on Mars. I’ve read the blades spin at much higher velocity than an earth copter. The blades also have an extremely wide chord to scoop more air.

[BradyLS]

It may not be able to. But the blades seem to be much larger for the body it is trying to lift than comparable craft on earth. Two pairs of counter-rotating blades that have a 4’ diameter for that little box. And they’re designed to rotate at 2400rpm—40 revolutions per second. I hope that’s enough to generate lift in that atmosphere!