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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
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The Mars Robotic Exploration Program is sending missions every 26 months to orbit and land on Mars and, in 2005, to return a sample to Earth. The highly successful Mars Pathfinder and Mars Global Surveyor missions were launched in 1996.
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The purpose of the study is to identify limits, trends, and sensitivities of Mars Transportation System performance over several Mars mission opportunities. Two Mars Transfer Vehicle (MTV) configurations utilizing different propulsion systems (Chemical/Aerobrake and NEP - Nuclear Electric Propulsion) are outlined. The trades involved in comparing two MTS candidate designs are assessed. Mission analysis for mission opportunities beginning in around 2010 and continuing past 2030 is performed, and a Mars mission model is covered, along with orbit selection and NEP and Chemical/Aerobrake performance. The results of several sensitivity studies are given in order to allow for contingency planning in design and performance. It is concluded that the low-thrust system perform best, its vehicle mass is lower and its trip times are more stable.
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This poster is an invitation for participation in the specification and implementation of engineering and ancillary data standards, and allied software tools needed to conceptualize, designs, operate and analyze the data returned from Mars and other solar system exploration missions
The history of exploration and the international system of control of Antarctica has often been cited as a paradigm for the exploration of space. The small isolated research stations have been used to model the psychological stresses of future space missions. In addition, the programmatic structure of the U.S. Antarctic Research Program provides several possible analogs to future Mars Programs presently under discussion. These are: (1) Continued presence; (2) Civilian, military and private sector involvement; (3) Scientific activities; (4) Risk assessment and logistical support; (5) Accessibility for non-specialists; (6) Political and strategic motivations; (7) International cooperation/competition. Survival in Antarctica is contingent on advanced technology and the active transport of supplies. The scientific exploration of this remote and barren expanse without, of course, the aid and guidance of indigenous people certainly provides one of the closest analogs available to future science activities on the Martian surface.
The prime objective of the program became returning multiple samples to earth, the first in 2008, and within the augmented budget.
No abstract available