Benefits of Using UAS for Aerial Imagery and Deep Space Exploration

Course: Application of Unmanned Systems

The design and development of flying vehicles started with pioneers like Otto Lilienthal who is credited with the first successful controlled gliders flight in history dating back to 1891 ( Anderson, 2016). Aircraft design has experienced a rapid growth due to military demands, successes of commercial flights and technological advancements. Nowadays, the newest type of aircraft being designed by manufacturers are Unmanned Aerial Systems. They have been simply described as devices used or intended to be used for flight in the air that has no onboard pilot. The EASA defines Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) as an individual system composed of the unmanned aircraft, the control station, and any other elements necessary to enable flight such as a command and control link and launch and recovery elements (Valavanis & Vachtsevanos, 2015). Not only have the physical characteristics, mission capabilities and functions of UAS revolutionized the aerospace industry but also have they had a tremendous impact on other industries. UAS can be used for multiple purposes which include aerial photography, land survey, GIS mapping, accessing remote locations, exploring environments unsuitable for humans and operations within flight conditions considered unsafe for humans. UAS are ideal for aerial imaging and deep space exploration applications. What are the benefits of using UAS for aerial imagery and deep space exploration?

Aerial imagery is essentially the practice of taking pictures of a specific element or set of elements from a height above sea level. This is commonly accomplished from a fixed-wing aircraft, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, or a satellite system. Other platforms used for aerial imagery include rotorcraft, vehicle mounted poles, dirigibles and blimps, balloons, parachutes, rockets, kites and stand-alone telescoping. The aerial imagery market is forecasted to reach more than 4.1 billion by 2025 with UAS usage anticipated to comprise much more than the 45.7% share of the market it already held since 2017 (Fortune Business Insight, 2019). In fact, the use of UAS has revolutionized the aerial imagery industry. The main benefits of UAS usage in this field are safety and lower cost. Aircraft usage for aerial imagery required the use of an aircraft and a pilot which tremendously increased safety risks such as collisions, accidents and the lost of human lives. In suburban areas, aircraft noise pollution has to be significant nuisance attributed to the use of aircraft. Cost of aerial imaging with aircraft encompasses aircraft rental cost, pilot wages, fuel cost, equipment and accessories costs, crew wages and much more. When considering the alternate platform that is satellite systems, one must first evaluate the cost of satellite development, satellite launch, satellite maintenance but most importantly usage being often restricted to major corporations and government personnel and usage. All these issues are eradicated with the introduction of UAS for the purpose of aerial imagery. From a safety standpoint, human errors and the lost of human lives are tremendously mitigated. From a cost standpoint and because even simple UAS systems equipped with an advanced camera system can be used to complete aerial photography, UAS usage comes at a significantly lower price than aircraft or satellite usage based on a simple analysis of system elements required for each platform type. It is therefore easy to understand why UAS platforms are forecasted to hold 78% of the aerial imaging market share by 2024 (Global Market Insight, 2018). UAS have also made a tremendous impact in the field of deep space exploration.

The limits from earth to space or limits from a specific point in space to the edge of the universe which currently represent deep space has technically yet to be defined. Nevertheless, deep space is commonly referred from earth as space well beyond the Lunar vicinity. We can therefore agree that prior to the use of UAS, deep space had not been explored. Although space enthusiasts will point to the use of telescope or astronomical and cosmic mapping from pre-historic times, recorded history had no proof of a physical body from earth exploring such frontiers well beyond the moon prior to the use of probes, satellites and other UAS systems. Thus, the benefits of UAS usage for deep space exploration encompasses acquiring further knowledge of our solar systems and deep space frontier, enabling and assisting in the development of future manned missions and most importantly preventing the loss of human lives in preliminary exploration missions completed by Unmanned Aerial Systems. Prior to the use of UAS, humans simply had no means for safely exploring deep space and safely returning to earth. From a cost standpoint, an analyst must evaluate the cost of lost astronauts’ lives, the cost of lost spacecraft and spacecraft system elements, development cost of life support systems, and the cost of legally defending deadly space exploration missions. The use of UAS to acquire the preliminary knowledge required for deep space exploration has mitigated all the above mentioned issues. It is important to note that the development of the Orion Crewed Spacecraft is an important benefit of UAS usage for space exploration. Data acquired from such missions allowed for engineering, designing, and developing a space vehicle and support systems necessary for successful and safe missions. In fact, NASA reports that the first missions of the Orion Spacecraft and the Space Launch System will travel more than 40000 miles beyond the moon (NASA, n.d.). UAS systems continue to be used to ensure safety in deep space exploration missions. As an example, NASA’s Exploration Missions-1 (EM-1) will constitute on an unmanned flight test mission in 2020 prior to a crewed mission Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2) scheduled to be launched by 2023 (NASA, 2019).

UAS have had a tremendously positive impact on aerial imagery and deep space exploration. Their usage has led to significantly lower cost of operations, improved operations safety, mitigation of human errors, lessening of incidents but most importantly tremendous improvement in the prevention of lost human lives. It is important to note that UAS are pioneers of the field of Deep Space exploration since their missions enabled understanding of deep space environmental elements and the development of manned missions.

References

Anderson, J.D. (2016), Introduction to Flight. McGraw-Hill Education, New-York, NY.

Valavanis, K., & Vachtsevanos, G. (2015). Handbook of unmanned aerial vehicles . Springer

Reference, Dordrecht, Netherlands.

Fortune Business Insights. (2019, April 1). Aerial Ima Imaging Market Worth $ 4125.2 Million By 2025, Market to Gain Traction from Increasing Implementation in Archaeological Researches, Press Release/Aerial Imaging Technology Market. Retrieved from https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/press-release/aerial-imaging-technology-market-9045

Global Market Insight. (2018). Aerial Imaging Market Size and Share. Retrieved from https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/aerial-imaging-market

NASA. (n.d.). Deep Space Exploration Systems. Retrieved from https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/aerial-imaging-market

NASA. (2019, April 3). NASA’s Deep Space Exploration System is coming Together. Retrieved from https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-s-deep-space-exploration-system-is-coming-together