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Curiosity's primary goal is to explore and quantitatively assess a local region on Mars' surface as a potential habitat for life, past or present. This presentation will discuss what makes a habitable environment with some scientific data from the mars rover.
Tests were carried out to assess the impact of wind blown dust accumulation and abrasion on radiator surfaces on Mars. High emittance arc-textured copper and niobium-1 percent-zirconium samples were subjected to basaltic dust laden wind at Martian pressure (1000 Pa) at speeds varying from 19 to 97 m/s in the Martian Surface Wind Tunnel. The effect of accumulated dust was also observed by pre-dusting some of the samples before the test. Radiator degradation was determined by measuring the change in the emittance after dust was deposited and/or removed. The principle mode of degradation was abrasion. Arc textured Nb-1 percent-Zr proved to be more susceptible to degradation than Cu, and pre-dusting appeared to have lessened the abrasion.
Tests were carried out to assess the impact of wind blown dust accumulation and abrasion on radiator surfaces on Mars. High emittance arc-textured copper and niobium-1 percent-zirconium samples were subjected to basaltic dust laden wind at Martian pressure (1000 Pa) at speeds varying from 19 to 97 m/s in the Martian Surface Wind Tunnel. The effect of accumulated dust was also observed by pre-dusting some of the samples before the test. Radiator degradation was determined by measuring the change in the emittance after dust was deposited and/or removed. The principle mode of degradation was abrasion. Arc textured Nb-1 percent-Zr proved to be more susceptible to degradation than Cu, and pre-dusting appeared to have lessened the abrasion.
Mars Science Laboratory has made measurements that contribute to our assessment of habitability potential at Gale Crater. Campaign organization into a consistent set of measurable parameters allows us to rank the relative habitability potential of sites we study, ultimately laying a foundation for a global context inclusive of past and future Mars mission observations. Chemical, physical, geological and geographic attributes shape environments. Isolated measurements of these factors may be insufficient to deem an environment habitable, but the sum of measurements can help predict locations with greater or lesser habitability potential. Metrics for habitability assessment based on field work at sites sharing features analogous to Mars have previously been suggested. Grouping these metrics helps us to develop an index for their application to habitability assessment. The index is comprised of the weighted values for four groups of parameters, the habitability threshold for each is to be determined.
Mars Science Laboratory has made measurements that contribute to our assessment of habitability potential at Gale Crater. Campaign organization into a consistent set of measurable parameters allows us to rank the relative habitability potential of sites we study, ultimately laying a foundation for a global context inclusive of past and future Mars mission observations. Chemical, physical, geological and geographic attributes shape environments. Isolated measurements of these factors may be insufficient to deem an environment habitable, but the sum of measurements can help predict locations with greater or lesser habitability potential. Metrics for habitability assessment based on field work at sites sharing features analogous to Mars have previously been suggested. Grouping these metrics helps us to develop an index for their application to habitability assessment. The index is comprised of the weighted values for four groups of parameters, the habitability threshold for each is to be determined.
The Mars Science Laboratory Radiation Assessment Detector (MSLRAD) is providing continuous measurements of dose, dose equivalent, and particle flux on the surface of Mars. These measurements have been highly useful in validating environmental and radiation transport models that will be heavily relied upon for future deep space missions. In this work, the HZETRN code is utilized to estimate radiation quantities of interest on the Martian surface. A description of the modeling approach used with HZETRN is given along with the various input models and parameters used to define the galactic cosmic ray (GCR) environment and Martian geometry. Sensitivity tests are performed to gauge the impact of varying several input factors on quantities being compared to MSLRAD data. Results from these tests provide context for inter-code comparisons presented in a companion paper within this issue. It is found that details of the regolith and atmospheric composition have a minimal impact on surface flux, dose, and dose equivalent. Details of the density variation within the atmosphere and uncertainties associated with specifying the vertical atmospheric thickness are also found to have minimal impact. Two widely used GCR models are used as input into HZETRN and it is found that the associated surface quantities are within several percent of each other.
Mars Aerocapture Systems Study (MASS) is a detailed study of the application of aerocapture to a large Mars robotic orbiter to assess and identify key technology gaps. This study addressed use of an Opposition class return segment for use in the Mars Sample Return architecture. Study addressed mission architecture issues as well as system design. Key trade studies focused on design of aerocapture aeroshell, spacecraft design and packaging, guidance, navigation and control with simulation, computational fluid dynamics, and thermal protection system sizing. Detailed master equipment lists are included as well as a cursory cost assessment.
Of all the planets in the Solar System, Mars is the most Earthlike in its geological characteristics. Like Earth, it has been subjected to exogenic processes, such as impact cratesing and erosion by wind and water, as well as endogenic processes, including tectonic deformation of the crust and volcanism. The effects of these processes are amply demonstrated by the great variety of surface features, including impact craters, landslides, former river channels, sand dunes, and the largest volcanoes in the Solar System. Some of these features suggest substantial changes in Mars' environment during its history. For example, as reviewed by Carr, today Mars is a cold, dry desert with an average atmospheric pressure of only 5.6 mbar which does not allow liquid water to exist on the surface. To some planetary scientists, the presence of the channels bespeaks a time when Mars was warmer and wetter. However, others have argued that these features might have formed under current conditions and that there might not have been a shift in climate. Could the morphology of volcanoes and related features provide clues to past Martian environments? What role is played by atmospheric density in the styles of eruptions on Mars and resulting landforms? If these and related questions can be answered, then we may have a means for assessing the conditions on Mars' surface in the past and comparing the results with models of Martian evolution. In this chapter, we outline the sources of information available for volcanism on Mars, explore the influence of the Martian environment on volcanic processes, and describe the principal volcanic features and their implications for understanding the general evolution of the Martian surface.
This paper assesses the power requirement for a Manned Mars Rover vehicle. Auxiliary power needs are fulfilled using a hybrid solar photovoltaic/regenerative fuel cell system, while the primary power needs are meet using an SP-100 type reactor. The primary electric power needs, which include 30-kW(e) net user power, depend on the reactor thermal power and the efficiency of the power conversion system. Results show that an SP-100 type reactor coupled to a Free Piston Stirling Engine yields the lowest total vehicle mass and lowest specific mass for the power system. The second lowest mass was for a SP-100 reactor coupled to a Closed Brayton Cycle using He/Xe as the working fluid. The specific mass of the nuclear reactor power system, including a man-rated radiation shield, ranged from 150-kg/kW(e) to 190-kg/KW(e) and the total mass of the Rover vehicle varied depend upon the cruising speed.
The extent to which extraterrestrial life questions can be addressed, in the absence of an actual example, rests in some measure on the extent to which terrestrial life is representative of life in general since we will likely have to draw heavily, if not completely, from terrestrial life research. One example of a practical question involving extraterrestrial life that arises in preparing for a human mission to another planet such as Mars, is trying to assess and minimize the possible adverse effects of the presence of humans on possible indigenous extraterrestrial life-forms. This paper will present some key planetary protection challenges for a human Mars mission and then focus on one possible approach for assessing the extent to which terrestrial life is representative of biological phenomena in general, informing perhaps, the level of confidence we might have in applying terrestrial research - to extraterrestrial life issues. The approach involves appealing to the relatively new field of Artificial Life (A-Life) to: (1) use what might be the most basic minimal set of life-defining characteristics in (2) a large number of open-ended Artificial Life simulations to generate a "life possibility space" (3) the products of which can be examined for their plausibility within the context of relevant constraining knowledge, so that (4) the remaining possibility space can be examined for its variability relative to terrestrial life, where low variability might suggest that terrestrial life is representative of life in general, and high variability would indicate otherwise.
NASA and ESA are working together to plan a joint campaign to potentially bring back the first Martian samples to Earth in the early 2030s. On the surface of Mars, the Mars 2020Perseverance Rover is selecting and packaging samples that could be returned to Earth for careful examination by an international team of scientists. In preparation for this historic sample return, advance planning is underway to design and build a Mars Sample Receiving Facility (SRF) in the mid-2020s. In 2022, a Mars Sample Receiving Facility Assessment Study(MSAS) will be conducted to further define construction modality and capability options for a facility in the conterminous United States. Since Mars Sample Return (MSR) is currently categorized as a planetary protection restricted Earth return, this new facility would feature biosafety level 4 (BSL-4)-like high containment to protect Earth’s biosphere from any potential hazard. In addition, the facility also requires integration of cleanroom technologies to mitigate against terrestrial contamination and preserve sample integrity for science investigations. The integration of both clean handling and high containment requires significant technology research and development (R&D) by the mid-2020s to support the definition and planning of a SRF before commencing the site specific design phase. The SRF project will need to solidify the inorganic, organic, and biological contamination control (CC) requirements for the facility. This could entail a translation of Mars 2020 mission CC requirements for geologic material to engineering requirements for surfaces and airborne molecular contamination inside isolators and cleanrooms. In tandem, the project will need to determine precision cleaning and sterilization approaches for cleanrooms, isolators, equipment, and tools. Initial material selections for the facility construction materials, cleanrooms, isolators, and BSL-4 suits/garments are an important activity. The recent construction of the OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa2 curation cleanroom laboratories greatly benefited from early materials testing, before the design phase, to reduced organic outgassing and particulate shedding inside the laboratory. While the early biohazard investigations in the SRF may deem the samples safe to release to laboratories throughout the world, sterilization methods need to be defined to safely release Martian samples. One key aspect of enabling simultaneous sample containment and cleanliness is the concept of a Double-Walled Isolator (DWI) that ESA has been pursuing. Further R&D is needed about DWIs, sample handling, and instrumentation interfaces before beginning the SRF site specific design phase. A working isolator/DWI engineering model should be developed and fabricated. Isolator sizes, connections, pass-through antechambers, and configurations and basic interfaces with instruments and tools as well as the use of robotic, mechanical, and/or human manipulation need to be considered. Inert high purity gas supply (one-pass or recirculation) and other isolator utilities must be determined. Special accommodations for large instruments (e.g., XCT,SEM, etc.) need to be developed. Techniques for opening the sample tubes packaged by M2020and extracting the headspace gas while keeping samples pristine will be challenging, requiring additional R&D, and engagement of the M2020 project. In addition, careful micromanipulation for subdivision and packaging of samples will also need to be included. These combined R&D activities are important before commencing the SRF design phase to ensure safe biohazard containment, sample preservation, and science integrity for the samples that would be studied in the SRF and in laboratories around the world.
Space missions rely utterly on metallic components, from the spacecraft to electronics. Yet, metals add mass, and electronics have the additional problem of a limited lifespan. Thus, current mission architectures must compensate for replacement. In space, spent electronics are discarded; on earth, there is some recycling but current processes are toxic and environmentally hazardous. Imagine instead an end-to-end recycling of spent electronics at low mass, low cost, room temperature, and in a non-toxic manner. Here, we propose a solution that will not only enhance mission success by decreasing upmass and providing a fresh supply of electronics, but in addition has immediate applications to a serious environmental issue on the Earth. Spent electronics will be used as feedstock to make fresh electronic components, a process we will accomplish with so-called 'urban biomining' using synthetically enhanced microbes to bind metals with elemental specificity. To create new electronics, the microbes will be used as 'bioink' to print a new IC chip, using plasma jet electronics printing. The plasma jet electronics printing technology will have the potential to use martian atmospheric gas to print and to tailor the electronic and chemical properties of the materials. Our preliminary results have suggested that this process also serves as a purification step to enhance the proportion of metals in the 'bioink'. The presence of electric field and plasma can ensure printing in microgravity environment while also providing material morphology and electronic structure tunabiity and thus optimization. Here we propose to increase the TRL level of the concept by engineering microbes to dissolve the siliceous matrix in the IC, extract copper from a mixture of metals, and use the microbes as feedstock to print interconnects using mars gas simulant. To assess the ability of this concept to influence mission architecture, we will do an analysis of the infrastructure required to execute this concept on Mars, and additional opportunities it could offer mission design from the biological and printing technologies. In addition, we will do an analysis of the impact of this technology for terrestrial applications addressing in particular environmental concerns and availability of metals.
This paper presents results from an analysis to assess the fluence of meteoroids on the Mars Sample Return Campaign Micrometeoroid Protection System (MMPS) and probability of damage to the Earth Entry System Thermal Protection System (TPS). Results are presented for the mission Outbound trajectory from Earth to Mars. The MEM3 meteoroid environment model was used for the assessment. Results are presented showing the reduction in fluence on cube faces and on the MMPS that can be achieved by selection of an anti-velocity orientation of the MMPS. A methodology is presented that determines the cumulative fluence on the MMPS using the MEM3 meteoroid fluxes and the spacecraft attitude profile over the trajectory. Resulting distributions of fluence over impact velocity, angle, and mass are presented. The fluence results are used to establish velocity-angle scenarios for hydrocode simulation and to assess net damage fluence to the TPS. Example tables containing Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics Code (SPHC) simulation scenarios as well as hypothetical hydrocode simulation scenarios for illustration purposes are presented. The tables present the resulting net damaging fluence to the TPS for each scenario and the total across the scenarios. Additionally, examples of CTH hydrocode simulation are included, demonstrating their use for determining critical impactor across the impactor parameter space, and damage of impactors that penetrate the MMPS.
An initial Mars Surface Habitat (MSH) concept design study was conducted as part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Habitation Systems Development Office’s effort to inform NASA crewed Mars architecture decisions. The study assessed the unique challenges, risks, and benefits of a surface habitation element within the Mars architecture trade space. The goal of the study was to identify unique functional capabilities necessary to support a crewed mission on the Martian surface, the unique challenges and risks associated with such an architecture, and the areas of further analysis required to make such a mission possible. Continuing NASA’s development and execution of the Moon to Mars lunar surface missions, attention will continue progressing toward the initial crewed Mars mission. To prepare for this, NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD) has established a strategic analysis cycle (SAC) where an architectural trade space is identified and evaluated. Given that the Mars architecture and mission profile are still in this trade space, the architecture and mission considered for this study is SAC21. In addition, reference conceptual designs are being refined for the Mars Transit Habitat (TH) and MSH systems which will enable crew to safely travel to and inhabit the surface of Mars. The NASA Mars architectures trade space includes the use of a Pressurized Rover (PR) to address both crew habitation and mobility needs. This study assesses the use of a dedicated habitat via the MSH and an unpressurized terrain vehicle for crew mobility and exploration in lieu of the PR. Determining the optimum mission architecture will require continued analysis by ESDMD teams and this study is intended to support of such a study. The MSH concept design team aims to explore this area of the Mars habitation trade space, and in doing so, inform and highlight the considerations associated with a MSH in the surface architecture. It is not the intention of this study to make specific habitation or architecture decisions, but instead to provide a habitation element concept compatible with the Mars architecture trade space.
An initial Mars Surface Habitat (MSH) concept design study was conducted as part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Habitation Systems Development Office’s effort to inform NASA crewed Mars architecture decisions. The study assessed the unique challenges, risks, and benefits of a surface habitation element within the Mars architecture trade space. The goal of the study was to identify unique functional capabilities necessary to support a crewed mission on the Martian surface, the unique challenges and risks associated with such an architecture, and the areas of further analysis required to make such a mission possible. Continuing NASA’s development and execution of the Moon to Mars lunar surface missions, attention will continue progressing toward the initial crewed Mars mission. To prepare for this, NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD) has established a strategic analysis cycle (SAC) where an architectural trade space is identified and evaluated. Given that the Mars architecture and mission profile are still in this trade space, the architecture and mission considered for this study is SAC21. In addition, reference conceptual designs are being refined for the Mars Transit Habitat (TH) and MSH systems which will enable crew to safely travel to and inhabit the surface of Mars. The NASA Mars architectures trade space includes the use of a Pressurized Rover (PR) to address both crew habitation and mobility needs. This study assesses the use of a dedicated habitat via the MSH and an unpressurized terrain vehicle for crew mobility and exploration in lieu of the PR. Determining the optimum mission architecture will require continued analysis by ESDMD teams and this study is intended to support of such a study. The MSH concept design team aims to explore this area of the Mars habitation trade space, and in doing so, inform and highlight the considerations associated with a MSH in the surface architecture. It is not the intention of this study to make specific habitation or architecture decisions, but instead to provide a habitation element concept compatible with the Mars architecture trade space.
The Artemis Base Camp will be our first sustainable foothold on the lunar frontier. The base camp includes a lunar surface habitat, power systems, and infrastructure needed to develop capabilities on future missions to Mars. NASA Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) methodologies tend to focus on in-flight Loss of Crew (LOC) or Loss of Vehicle (LOV) risk estimates for short mission durations. However, lunar habit support systems and power generation systems will need to continuously operate. Existing risk methodologies will need to adapt to understand risk drivers in new environments under different operating conditions, such as lunar dust and increased micro-meteoroid exposure. Insights from the nuclear and oil industries can provide guidance to NASA risk practitioners to tackle this new challenge.
To show how NASA’s Moon-to-Mars (M2M) program can use hardware reliability assessments and comprehensive Probabilistic Risk Assessments (PRAs) to estimate risk of future missions and manage risk via safety and mission success requirements from the top down, so that this risk can be balanced with other program metrics like cost and schedule. These PRAs and reliability assessments can be used during the concept, design, and operational phases of development. This presentation also provides some thoughts on how the NASA process can be utilized for a lunar surface power grid development.