  Mid-Air Deployment (MAD) of a rotorcraft during Entry, Descent and Landing
(EDL) on Mars eliminates the need to carry a propulsion or airbag landing
system. This reduces the total mass inside the aeroshell by more than 100 kg
and simplifies the aeroshell architecture. MAD's lighter and simpler design is
likely to bring the risk and cost associated with the mission down. Moreover,
the lighter entry mass enables landing in the Martian highlands, at elevations
inaccessible to current EDL technologies. This paper proposes a novel MAD
concept for a Mars helicopter. We suggest a minimum science payload package to
perform relevant science in the highlands. A variant of the Ingenuity
helicopter is proposed to provide increased deceleration during MAD, and enough
lift to fly the science payload in the highlands. We show in simulation that
the lighter aeroshell results in a lower terminal velocity (30 m/s) at the end
of the parachute phase of the EDL, and at higher altitudes than other
approaches. After discussing the aerodynamics, controls, guidance, and
mechanical challenges associated with deploying at such speed, we propose a
backshell architecture that addresses them to release the helicopter in the
safest conditions. Finally, we implemented the helicopter model and aerodynamic
descent perturbations in the JPL Dynamics and Real-Time Simulation
(DARTS)framework. Preliminary performance evaluation indicates landing and
helicopter operation scan be achieved up to 5 km MOLA (Mars Orbiter Laser
Altimeter reference).
