Hi,
My name is Viterbo, and I’m a science fiction writer. I was wondering if I could run some ideas through members of this forum. I have a scene that relates to drones on another planet.
I’m working on a story set on a Mars analog planet. For the issue I’ll discuss, the most important thing about it is that the atmosphere is very thin.
There is a ship orbiting the planet, looking for a suitable place to land and start a colony. Due to fuel limitations, they have about ten days to do so (choose a place to land). Through satellite imagery, they had located a series of lava tubes that would be ideal candidates for a base. On then they found a skylight. It would be ideal if they could fly a “drone-like” device through it to explore the lava tubes/caves, and take measurements. They can send ONE (fairly large) probe. It would contain a few instruments to make measurements, take samples, etc. This probe can already carry a “big-drone” that can move some of the instruments around but is too big to enter the skylight. They need a “small-drone”.
The scene I need help with involves three characters.
I’ve thought about this scenario: The technician was given two days to build the thing. He did so in a hurry with some help from the girl. They’ve been doing flight tests onboard (in a low-pressure chamber in a lab to simulate conditions the best they can but the test is not perfect since there is no gravity at the moment in the ship).
The test flights are a disaster. The pilot and the technician can’t do anything with it. Very unstable and they crash all the time, having to print new replacement parts. The only one that was able to fly the thing was the girl, once. Call it a soft touch, natural talent, etc. I’ve blamed this on poorly calibrated “stabilization” software. (The software is calibrated for the big drones and not the small drone he created… maybe?) The pilot and technician want to use the stabilization software because there are “adjustments during flight that are too difficult to do by a human.” The girl thinks the software makes it more difficult to fly. She is a natural (?)
Technology for this universe is similar to ours, maybe a bit more advanced. There is no faster-than-light travel, infinite sources of energy/resources, etc. No magic. The technology of these drones would be similar to the drone/helicopter that NASA flew on Mars in 2020 (ingenuity). The one in NASA was completely autonomous.
Did any of these ideas/scenarios sound blatantly NOT plausible in your experience?
Any ideas about what unstable behavior with very thin air may feel like in a drone?
Any suggestions/ideas related to drones that would make the pilot NOT fly the small drone but have no problems flying the bigger one? I would imagine the drones to be similar, just different in size. Would this, by itself, create a problem I’m not seeing? (but maybe obvious to you)
Thanks
V.
mgviterbo.com
My name is Viterbo, and I’m a science fiction writer. I was wondering if I could run some ideas through members of this forum. I have a scene that relates to drones on another planet.
I’m working on a story set on a Mars analog planet. For the issue I’ll discuss, the most important thing about it is that the atmosphere is very thin.
There is a ship orbiting the planet, looking for a suitable place to land and start a colony. Due to fuel limitations, they have about ten days to do so (choose a place to land). Through satellite imagery, they had located a series of lava tubes that would be ideal candidates for a base. On then they found a skylight. It would be ideal if they could fly a “drone-like” device through it to explore the lava tubes/caves, and take measurements. They can send ONE (fairly large) probe. It would contain a few instruments to make measurements, take samples, etc. This probe can already carry a “big-drone” that can move some of the instruments around but is too big to enter the skylight. They need a “small-drone”.
The scene I need help with involves three characters.
- The ship’s pilot, who is expected to fly the small drone. He can fly the big drone with no problems.
- The technician/electronics expert that was given two days to build the small drone from semi-scratch. Young guy, printed scaled-down parts from the large drone, adapted some electronics motors, etc, and managed to put it together in a hurry.
- The technician’s apprentice, a 18-year-old girl. This is my protagonist.
I’ve thought about this scenario: The technician was given two days to build the thing. He did so in a hurry with some help from the girl. They’ve been doing flight tests onboard (in a low-pressure chamber in a lab to simulate conditions the best they can but the test is not perfect since there is no gravity at the moment in the ship).
The test flights are a disaster. The pilot and the technician can’t do anything with it. Very unstable and they crash all the time, having to print new replacement parts. The only one that was able to fly the thing was the girl, once. Call it a soft touch, natural talent, etc. I’ve blamed this on poorly calibrated “stabilization” software. (The software is calibrated for the big drones and not the small drone he created… maybe?) The pilot and technician want to use the stabilization software because there are “adjustments during flight that are too difficult to do by a human.” The girl thinks the software makes it more difficult to fly. She is a natural (?)
Technology for this universe is similar to ours, maybe a bit more advanced. There is no faster-than-light travel, infinite sources of energy/resources, etc. No magic. The technology of these drones would be similar to the drone/helicopter that NASA flew on Mars in 2020 (ingenuity). The one in NASA was completely autonomous.
Did any of these ideas/scenarios sound blatantly NOT plausible in your experience?
Any ideas about what unstable behavior with very thin air may feel like in a drone?
Any suggestions/ideas related to drones that would make the pilot NOT fly the small drone but have no problems flying the bigger one? I would imagine the drones to be similar, just different in size. Would this, by itself, create a problem I’m not seeing? (but maybe obvious to you)
Thanks
V.
mgviterbo.com