Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Patzold, J. D..
The active Heat Rejection System designed for Mars Pathfinder was modified for the Mars Exploration Rover mission and will be used to remove excess heat from the Rover electronics during the cruise part of the mission. This paper addresses the lessons learned from the performance testing, and potential changes to improve the HRS performance.
Lighter-than-air planetary missions continued attract growing interest in Mars exploration due to unique combination of proximity to the surface and mobility that far surpasses capability of surface vehicles. Following the experience with the Sojourner rover and subsequent development of powerful rovers for Mars 2003 and 2005 missions it became clear that on Mars surface rover mobility is quite restricted. Realistic travel distances may be limited to tens of kilometers per year on relatively obstacle-free plains and a few kilometers or less on the more rugged terrains. Many areas on Mars will be inaccessible to rovers. Several concepts for a Mars aerobot (robotic balloon) mission have been pursued in the last decade. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.
A performance evaluation was conducted on a commercially available point-focus solar concentrator, the Heliodyne model HTC-25s tracker/concentrator. Thermal power test results indicate that slightly more than six kilowatts of thermal energy is available from a system of this configuration using a 10 cm aperture.