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At least 217 records · Page 12

Machine Vision based Sample-Tube Localization for Mars Sample Return

A potential Mars Sample Return (MSR) architecture is being jointly studied by NASA and ESA. As currently envisioned, the MSR campaign consists of a series of 3 missions: sample cache, fetch and return to Earth. In this paper, we focus on the fetch part of the MSR, and more specifically the problem of autonomously detecting and localizing sample tubes deposited on the Martian surface. Towards this end, we study two machine-vision based approaches: First, a geometrydriven approach based on template matching that uses hardcoded filters and a 3D shape model of the tube; and second, a data-driven approach based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and learned features. Furthermore, we present a large benchmark dataset of sample-tube images, collected in representative outdoor environments and annotated with ground truth segmentation masks and locations. The dataset was acquired systematically across different terrain, illumination conditions and dust-coverage; and benchmarking was performed to study the feasibility of each approach, their relative strengths and weaknesses, and robustness in the presence of adverse environmental conditions.

Detry, R.↗

Comparison between Hayabusa 2 Spectral Measurements and Simulations

Recent Hayabusa 2 spectral measurements are compared with state-of-the-art shock-layer radiation simulations resulting from the LAURA/HARA code suite. These simulations include coupled ablation, which accounts for the injection of ablation products into the flowfield, and coupled radiation, which accounts for radiative energy loss in the flowfield. To enable the cou- pled ablation simulations, a best-estimate model is developed for Hayabusa’s carbon-phenolic ablator based on available published information. The comparison between the simulations and measurements focuses on three atomic nitrogen lines, two atomic oxygen lines, one atomic hydrogen line, and the CN Violet band system. Parametric uncertainties are evaluated for these features using a recently developed capability in LAURA/HARA. These uncertainties capture the impact of flowfield and radiation modeling uncertainties on the observed radiation simulations, and include the impact of coupled radiation and ablation product emission. The resulting parametric uncertainties range from 50 to over 100% for the atomic lines, and 80% for CN Violet. Uncertainties in flowfield kinetics and non-Boltzmann modeling provide the dominant contribution to these uncertainties. For the atomic nitrogen and oxygen lines, com- parisons between the nominal simulations and measurements show agreement well within these simulation uncertainty bounds, with the measurements within 20% of the nominal simulation over most of the trajectory, and within 10% at peak emission. This excellent agreement is un- precedented for observed radiation measurements of atomic lines, where previous Stardust and Hayabusa 1 comparisons were significantly worse. The improved agreement for these Hayabusa 2 comparisons is both the result of improved measurement quality and enhanced flowfield and radiation modeling. For the ablation product emission from the 656 nm atomic hydrogen line, the agreement between measurements and simulations is within ±20% for all trajectory points except one outlier. This good comparison is surprising considering this species depends on the ablation rate and is shown to have strong wake contribution, which both contribute to the large ≈±70% parametric uncertainty. For the ablation product emission from CN Violet, the simulations over-predict the measurements by over a factor of two early in the trajectory, with the comparison improving later in the trajectory. This disagreement for CN Violet is consistent with the ≈±80% parametric uncertainty bounds evaluated for the simulations. To utilize the excellent agreement between the atomic line simulations and measurements in the assessment of the radiative heating margin for a future flight vehicle, the flowfield property binning (FPB) approach is applied. Using the Mars Sample Return (MSR) Earth Entry System (EES) as an example, the combination of the excellent Hayabusa comparisons and the FPB analysis justify nearly a 10% reduction in the radiative heating margin from an assumed baseline margin of 30%. This direct quantitative link between observed radiation measurements and the radia- tive heating margin of future flight vehicles demonstrates the value of these observed radiation measurements.

Shock-Layer Radiative Heating↗

Response of Ablative Thermal Protection Materials to Degradation in Low Earth Orbit – Characterization of Specimens from MISSE-13

The environment of low Earth orbit presents unique material interactions due to the presence of atomic oxygen and solar spectrum UV. A variety of degradation mechanisms can occur depending, in large part, on the specific material system involved. This talk will review the characterization of two ablative materials, PICA-D and HEEET, as well as relevant adhesive joints and coatings. PICA-D is a variant of the phenolic impregnated carbon ablator (PICA) and is the baseline thermal protection system (TPS) on Dragonfly and the lander for Mars Sample Return (MSR). HEEET is a 3D woven system from which MSR’s Earth entry TPS is derived. The samples for these materials were flown in orbit during the Materials International Space Station Experiment-13 (MISSE-13) which launched on March 6, 2020 and returned to Earth on January 13, 2021. Changes to surface microstructure and reflectivity will be presented along with tomographic analysis. The effect of differential erosion rates on the composites and the impacts of the orbit environment on coating performances will be discussed in the context of TPS performance and mission design aspects.

MISSE↗

TPS Certification by Analysis: Model-Driven Characterization of Properties and Failure in Woven Thermal Protection Systems

Woven, ablative thermal protection system (TPS) materials provide a robust option for aggressive (re)entries and thus have been baselined for the upcoming Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission's Earth Entry System (EES). The reliability requirements for MSR-EES necessitate understanding of material property variability, which could be significant given the complex structure and anisotropic nature of properties in TPS weaves, as well as the response to potential impact with micrometeoroids or orbital debris during the EES re-entry. The TPS Certification by Analysis effort within the Entry Systems Modeling project seeks to provide computational models and analyses that support the certification against such material-based risks. For the present talk, focus will be given to the characterization of baseline woven TPS material properties and mechanical failure limits, which entails (1) use of computational techniques (e.g., machine learning) to interpret computed tomography images of the weave to generate representative structural models and (2) application of multiscale material modeling approaches to characterize thermomechanical and failure properties.

thermal protection systems↗

TPS Certification by Analysis: Model-Driven Characterization of Properties and Failure in Woven Thermal Protection Systems

Woven, ablative thermal protection system (TPS) materials provide a robust option for aggressive (re)entries and thus have been baselined for the upcoming Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission’s Earth Entry System (EES). The reliability requirements for MSR-EES necessitate understanding of material property variability, which could be significant given the complex structure and anisotropic nature of properties in TPS weaves, as well as the response to potential impact with micrometeoroids or orbital debris during the EES re-entry. The TPS Certification by Analysis effort within the Entry Systems Modeling project seeks to provide computational models and analyses that support the certification against such material-based risks. For the present talk, focus will be given to the characterization of baseline woven TPS material properties and mechanical failure limits, which entails (1) use of computational techniques (e.g., machine learning) to interpret computed tomography images of the weave to generate representative structural models and (2) application of multiscale material modeling approaches to characterize thermomechanical and failure properties.

Justin B. Haskins↗

State of the Art Thermal Protection Systems at NASA for Outer Planet Probes and TPS Developments in Support of Mars Sample Return Mission

In the recent NASA Planetary Science Decadal Survey (2023-2032) the committee recommended that the highest scientific priority of NASA’s robotic exploration efforts this decade should be completion of Mars Sample Return (MSR) and recommended to prioritize the Uranus Orbiter and Probe as the highest-priority new flagship missions for the next decade while Saturn Probe is one of the themes still under consideration for New Frontiers. This short course presentation will discuss relevant environments for outer planet missions and TPS materials under development at NASA and their readiness to meet mission needs. In addition the presentation will discuss the status of thermal protection system for the MSR Earth Entry System that brings the Martian samples safely through the Earth’s atmosphere.

Thermal Protection Systems↗

A Multi-Probe Mission at Jupiter is Within our Reach!!

Soon after Galileo Probe mission, capabilities to manufacture and test heritage carbon-phenolic (HCP) TPS atrophied. The impact of capability loss to Outer Planet probe missions, Venus in-situ and Mars Sample Return (MSR) missions was realized after two decades. MSR (1997 – 2006) initiated a search and recover of HCP. Decadal Survey (2003) recommended JPOP mission (Jupiter Polar Orbiter and Probe), but lack of HCP TPS resulted in Juno being proposed without a probe. Decadal Survey (2013) recognized and advised NASA to close the TPS gap. With the community support, NASA initiated a technology development effort to close this gap in 2019 and today, missions to Venus, Saturn, Uranus, and MSR are enabled by new 3-D Woven TPS. Jupiter, the most demanding mission from an entry and TPS perspective ever, still lacks a viable qualified TPS. While the Science community needs to make the case for going back to Jupiter with a Probe, this work is an assessment of emerging capabilities to support such a mission when needed. Recent SOA developments are very promising to close this technology gaps. Encourage the Science Community about the feasibility of future Jupiter Multi-Probes Mission Engage the Entry System/TPS Technology Community as to the emerging capabilities and need to preserve them Educate and excite the early career and next generation students interested in future Science and technology challenge.

Ethiraj Venkatapathy↗

Simulations of Coupled Shoulder Ablation of A Conceptual Aeroshell

The current study explores coupled numerical simulations of flow dynamics and material response affect ablation of the shoulder region of an entry capsule used in space missions like the Mars Sample Return (MSR) project. A new computational tool named Ares, developed at NASA Ames Research Center, is applied to carry out the coupled simulations by interconnecting well-established US3D (flow solver) and Icarus (material response solver), and the material considered is three-dimensional mid-density carbon phenolic (3MDCP). Particularly, this work extends the uncoupled analysis of Shrestha et al. 2022 by incorporating the coupling mechanism across the ablating surface between fluid and the capsule geometry. For simplicity, an axisymmetric geometry of the entry system is considered. A few mission-relevant parametric studies such as angles of orientation of the material layers with respect to the streamwise direction, backshell boundary conditions, and alternation of convective heat-transfer coefficients are investigated to essentially explore Ares capability with the primary focus on shoulder location.

Coupled Ablation Modeling↗

Enhanced Quantification of 3D Woven Composites Via Fourier Analysis and Structure Tensors Applied to CT Scans

NASA's development of advanced 3D woven carbon composites, such as HEEET and 3MDCP, represents a significant leap in materials designed to endure extreme atmospheric entry conditions. However, the internal complexity of these materials introduces a variety of structures and novel defect types. Traditional characterization methods rely on labor-intensive, manual examination of X-ray CT scans, demanding considerable time and expertise. This process, while thorough, is not sustainable for large-scale analysis and defect tracking. Addressing this critical challenge, this presentation introduces an innovative suite of automated tools and analytical techniques, pioneered by the Mars Sample Return (MSR) Earth Entry System (EES) Thermal Protection System (TPS) project. These advancements offer a more efficient and accurate approach for quantifying CT data and characterizing the defects of 3D woven composites.

Magnus Haw↗

Implementation of a Hybrid Edge Node-Centroid Node Approach for the Generation of Reduced Thermal Models

Reduced thermal models are often required for delivery to organizations that manage observatory or launch models at the highest levels of assembly. However, the effort to generate reduced models, and verify against their detailed counterparts, is a challenge that has not yet been conclusively solved. Higher level organizations often place a limit on the number of nodes for delivered models with the assumption that smaller models generally result in less computation time. However, the burden of producing and verifying the accuracy of the reduced models is placed primarily on the lower-level organizations, which in turn consumes resources needed to produce these models. Limiting the total number of allowable nodes may also prevent users from taking full advantage of software capabilities that allow for faster generation of models, such as finite elements, which generally require more nodes than older centroid based models. A methodology using Thermal Desktop was described in 2010 which used: (1) finite elements and edge nodes for a conduction matrix, (2) centroid nodes for capacitance and radiative computations, and (3) the super network feature to produce a conduction matrix based only on the centroid nodes. At that time, the methodology was clear, but the implementation would have had to be done manually; however, with the inclusion of the OpenTD API, this methodology can now be implemented programmatically and for the first time, be a viable approach for the generation of reduced models. The approach was implemented and developed at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) for the Capture, Containment, and Return System (CCRS) payload on the Earth Return Orbiter (ERO) as part of the Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission, resulting in the TCYEE tool. ERO features a spacecraft bus provided by Airbus through the European Space Agency (ESA) with node limitations on the delivered CCRS model provided by GSFC. TCYEE was used to generate the reduced model for this delivery and the predictions compared favorably to the detailed model currently in use for the thermal performance evaluation. Furthermore, TCYEE is being explored for potential use on the Roman Space Telescope (RST) for the generation of reduced models for delivery to the launch provider, which also has node limit requirements on the RST observatory model for use in launch simulation analyses. This paper describes the methodology, its implementation, and compares the performance of reduced models generated by TCYEE to their detailed counterparts.

Hume L. Peabody↗

Atmosphere Modeling and Performance Sensitivity for the Mars Sample Return Earth Entry System

The Capture, Containment, and Return System (CCRS) mission is a key element of the joint NASA-European Space Agency (ESA) planned Mars Sample Return (MSR) Campaign. The CCRS assembled Earth Entry System (EES) will enter the mission’s final segment in its Approach, Entry, Descent, and Landing (AEDL) Phase. The EES AEDL aims to deliver a highly reliable, safe, and accurate return while maintaining strict containment assurance targets established by the campaign. As currently designed, the EES would be the first fully passive sample return capsule with no parachute or onboard control system, prompting a significant effort in Earth atmosphere characterization and modeling. Earth’s atmosphere, specifically winds, have a strong influence on EES flight mechanics and landing footprint during its free fall landing. This paper describes Earth atmosphere modeling, atmosphere characterization, and performance sensitivities incorporated into the teams’s efforts to ensure AEDL success. By utilizing high resolution balloon radiosondes, analyzing wind structural and distributional compositions, and investigating flight mechanics sensitivities, the AEDL atmosphere team has been able to better understand and simulate local wind conditions at the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). Utilizing tools such as horizontal turbulent kinetic energy, vertical wind shear, or integrated wind, the team have been able to reveal valuable information about wind profiles in a deeper context than previously conducted, ultimately improving understanding of AEDL flight mechanics sensitivity and EES design.

Kaustubh Ray↗

The Mars Sample Return Analogue Collection

The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover touched down in Jezero crater on February 18th, 2021, and sealed the first sample for Mars Sample Return (MSR) later that summer. As of sol 1088, 23 rock cores have been collected across a diverse set of lithologies that span rock types from sedimentary to igneous. As the cache on Perseverance continues to grow, the overall portfolio of MSR expands, creating long lasting implications for a wide net in the scientific community as well as supporting detailed analyses for generations to come. To best prepare for these precious samples to return to Earth one day, NASA and ESA are jointly planning to create a MSR Analogue Collection that will be available to the community in the near future.

M T Thorpe↗

Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research Experiment 2 (ASPIRE2) Flight Mechanics and Parachute Performance

The Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Re-search Experiment-2 (ASPIRE2) program consists of a sounding rocket flight test to be launched at Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) in 2025. This effort seeks to qualify the supersonic parachute for the Sample Retrieval Lander (SRL) under the Mars Sample Return (MSR) program, building off the successes of its predecessor program, ASPIRE, which launched in both 2017 and 2018. The conops for the ASPIRE2 mission are shown in Figure 1 relative to its predecessor. While the ASPIRE pro-gram qualified a 21.5 m diameter disk-gap band parachute deployed at Mach 1.7, the SRL parachute will be increased to 24 m in diameter and target a Mach 2.1 parachute deployment condition, the largest diameter supersonic parachute deployed at the highest Mach number to date. These requirements are driven by the increased landing mass of the sample retrieval lander, which is roughly a 50% increase over that of the Mars2020 entry vehicle. These changes necessitate ASPIRE2 to certify the parachute performance under similar deployment conditions. This work will cover the 6-DoF para-chute model implementation and flight mechanics performance for the ASPIRE2 campaign and discuss how these results will impact the design of the test article. The ASPIRE2 trajectory is simulated using a multi-body flight dynamics tool, Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories II (POST2). This work will summarize both the flight mechanics and parachute modeling (from payload separation until splashdown) and performance for this mission. Various design trades will be assessed such as para-chute tuning parameters as well as vehicle center of gravity location.

Evan Roelke↗

Quantitative Characterization of 3D Woven Composites Via Fourier Analysis and Structure Tensors Applied to CT Scans

NASA's development of advanced 3D woven carbon composites, such as HEEET and 3MDCP, represents a significant leap in materials designed to endure extreme atmospheric entry conditions. However, the internal complexity of these materials introduces a variety of structures and novel defect types. Traditional characterization methods rely on labor-intensive, manual examination of X-ray CT scans, demanding considerable time and expertise. This process, while thorough, is not sustainable for large-scale analysis and defect tracking. Addressing this critical challenge, this presentation introduces an innovative suite of automated tools and analytical techniques, pioneered by the Mars Sample Return (MSR) Earth Entry System (EES) Thermal Protection System (TPS) project. These advancements offer a more efficient and accurate approach for quantifying CT data and characterizing the defects of 3D woven composites.

3D Woven↗

Implementation of a Hybrid Edge Node-Centroid Node Approach for the Generation of Reduced Thermal Models

Reduced thermal models are often required for delivery to organizations that manage observatory or launch models at the highest levels of assembly. However, the effort to generate reduced models, and verify against their detailed counterparts, is a challenge that has not yet been conclusively solved. Higher level organizations often place a limit on the number of nodes for delivered models with the assumption that smaller models generally result in less computation time. However, the burden of producing and verifying the accuracy of the reduced models is placed primarily on the lower-level organizations, which in turn consumes resources needed to produce these models. Limiting the total number of allowable nodes may also prevent users from taking full advantage of software capabilities that allow for faster generation of models, such as finite elements, which generally require more nodes than older centroid based models. A methodology using Thermal Desktop was described in 2010 which used: (1) finite elements and edge nodes for a conduction matrix, (2) centroid nodes for capacitance and radiative computations, and (3) the super network feature to produce a conduction matrix based only on the centroid nodes. At that time, the methodology was clear, but the implementation would have had to be done manually; however, with the inclusion of the OpenTD API, this methodology can now be implemented programmatically and for the first time, be a viable approach for the generation of reduced models. The approach was implemented and developed at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) for the Capture, Containment, and Return System (CCRS) payload on the Earth Return Orbiter (ERO) as part of the Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission, resulting in the TCYEE tool. ERO features a spacecraft bus provided by Airbus through the European Space Agency (ESA) with node limitations on the delivered CCRS model provided by GSFC. TCYEE was used to generate the reduced model for this delivery and the predictions compared favorably to the detailed model currently in use for the thermal performance evaluation. Furthermore, TCYEE is being explored for potential use on the Roman Space Telescope (RST) for the generation of reduced models for delivery to the launch provider, which also has node limit requirements on the RST observatory model for use in launch simulation analyses. This paper describes the methodology, its implementation, and compares the performance of reduced models generated by TCYEE to their detailed counterparts.

Thermal desktop↗

An Approach for Practical Grid-Resolved Roughness Aerothermodynamic Simulations for Woven Heatshield Surfaces

An approach for simulating the aerothermal environment over a patterned roughness surface within an otherwise axisymmetric flow is developed. The patterned roughness is simplified into a sinusoidal shape that captures the basic features of a charred 3MDCP ablator. Two orientations of this pattern, which are equally flight relevant due to the forming process, enable periodic boundary conditions along the edges of a grid spanning a single roughness element. This simplified three-dimensional grid represents the minimum problem size for a patterned roughness simulation, which enables computationally efficient grid-resolved roughness simulations. This approach is validated by simulating the Langley Mach 6 measurements made on a similar sinusoidal surface, which results in convective heating within 5% of the experimental data. Applying this approach to Mars Sample Return (MSR) Earth Entry System (EES) flight cases, considering simulations with both 11 species air and 30 species air with ablation products, results in heating augmentation that is slightly lower than the widely-used Dahm correlation approach, with the difference being dependent on pattern orientation. This result provides the only insight into the behavior of the roughness augmentation at the high temperature reacting flow conditions present for EES flight cases, which are not captured by available ground test measurements. For shear augmentation, the simulations revealed that the surface-parallel pressure component is dominant. For arc-jet tests targeted to flight values for shear, the higher arc-jet pressures required to match flight values for shear result in up to a 400% increase in the rough wall shear value, which is not captured by the Dahm correlation. This indicates that, to avoid significant over-testing, grid-resolved roughness simulations are required to determine arc-jet conditions that produce flight shear levels in rough-wall scenarios.

Christopher O Johnston↗

Mars Sample Recovery Helicopter: Rotorcraft to Retrieve the First Samples from the Martian Surface

The Mars Sample Return Mission (MSR) will carry the next set of Mars helicopters, Sample Recovery Helicopters (SRHs), to the Martian surface. After successfully demonstrating extraterrestrial flight in 2021, Ingenuity has acted as a “scout” for the Perseverance rover while the rover gathers samples of Martian soil. In 2028, the MSR mission will launch a lander and two Ingenuity-sized SRHs to retrieve these samples. These will be the first samples of the Martian surface delivered to Earth. The SRH project will maintain heritage from Ingenuity’s design when possible. However, several key changes must be made, including a ground mobility system, a robotic arm for tube manipulation, and the ability to carry the weight of a science payload (the sample tubes). In addition, the onboard software and cameras will be upgraded, and the rotor radius will be increased. Furthermore, new rotor performance and flight dynamics models and thorough characterization of vehicle limits will be required. The new vehicle design will be described, as well as validation and verification efforts to date.

Rotorcraft↗

Overview of Mars Sample Return – Earth Entry System Woven Roughness Heating Augmentation Test in NASA Langley’s Mach 6 Wind Tunnel

The Mars Sample Return Mission (MSR) is a planned NASA flagship mission in which a sample retrieval lander (SRL) with a rover will be flown to Mars to obtain sample tubes on the surface that were dropped by the Mars 2020 rover [1]. After obtaining the sam-ples, the rover will return and ascend back to Martian orbit onboard the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV). Upon return to Earth orbit, the samples will perform Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) with the Earth Entry Sys-tem (EES) architecture, and land in Utah. The EES vehicle will utilize a HEEET-variant as its TPS, which will be the first time a woven TPS will be used on a flagship NASA mission [2]. This TPS offers a unique challenge for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling of the aerothermal envi-ronment of the vehicle, as woven roughness heating augmentation has not been extensively investigated experimentally. As a result, in order to validate com-putational models for woven roughness heating aug-mentation, a wind tunnel test campaign at NASA Langley Research Center’s Mach 6 wind tunnel was performed in April of 2023. This test campaign consisted of over a hundred runs with Reynolds numbers spanning from 1-7 mil-lion 1/ft and with six separate wind tunnel models used. A second campaign with a suite of new models will be conducted in Summer 2023 as well as a cam-paign with a flat plate model, both of which are of great interest to the MSR-EES project. The data obtained from this test are extremely vital for the MSR mission, as they will validate CFD roughness heating models which will be directly used to design the TPS of the EES portion of MSR and characterize the heating environment that the entry ve-hicle will experience. Further extensions of the MSR-EES test campaign will continue to provide validation data for developing more effective computational tools.

Jonathan Cheatwood↗