Sky-Sailor

The Sky-Sailor is a concept for a robotic aircraft with embedded solar cells on its wings, conceived in 2004 by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.

[2] If this project is funded and developed, it would be able to take detailed pictures of Mars, especially in places where wheeled rovers can not go.

Aerodynamic studies suggest the power needed for the aircraft to fly at a low altitude is about 13.2 watts.

[8] If developed, the aircraft would be carried to Mars in a small aeroshell and that would be attached to a carrier spacecraft.

[4] In 12 hours it could cover about 1,700 km (1,050 miles) over Mars, with the flight culminating in a crash landing.