Aerothermal Analysis and Environment Predictions for the Mars Sample Retrieval Lander (SRL)

Suman Muppidi; Dinesh Prabhu; David Saunders; Ryan McDaniel; Rathakrishnan Bhaskarn; David Kinney; Kaelan Hansson; Alireza Mazaheri; Karl Edquist

NASA NTRS · 20240007808

Aerothermal Analysis and Environment Predictions for the Mars Sample Retrieval Lander (SRL)

Suman Muppidi·Dinesh Prabhu·David Saunders·Ryan McDaniel·Rathakrishnan Bhaskarn·David Kinney·Kaelan Hansson·Alireza Mazaheri·Karl Edquist

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Abstract

Mars Sample Retrieval Lander (SRL) is the next mission to Mars, and an integral part of the proposed Mars Sample Return (MSR) Program. Aerothermal Analysis of the SRL capsule takes advantage of the design and analysis of the Mars Science Laboratory and the Mars 2020 missions, findings from the MEDLI and MEDLI2 heatshield instrumentation campaigns, and developments in predictive capabilities over the last 20 years. In particular, SRL is being designed to enter the Mars atmosphere at velocities as high as 8 km/s, which would be the highest for a Mars entry, and is expected to encounter additional shock layer radiation physics compared to previous missions to Mars. This paper presents the status of analysis including the overall methodology, models and assumptions of the aerothermal environment predictions, with a focus on differences from the approaches and modeling used for Mars 2020 and MSL.

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Suman Muppidi, Dinesh Prabhu, David Saunders, Ryan McDaniel, Rathakrishnan Bhaskarn, David Kinney, Kaelan Hansson, Alireza Mazaheri, Karl Edquist. Aerothermal Analysis and Environment Predictions for the Mars Sample Retrieval Lander (SRL). https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20240007808

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