Planned Improvements to the Venus Global Reference Atmospheric Model
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The Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging(DAVINCI) mission aims to answer long-standing questions regarding Venus’ origin using Zephyr, an atmospheric descent probe. Zephyr will be the first probe to take high-resolution aerial photographs of a mountainous tesserae surface as it descends over the Alpha Regio highlands region, which has the oldest surfaces of Venus. The Zephyr’s descent trajectory that determines the touchdown in the Alpha Regio, which is crucial for the DAVINCI mission, depends on Venus’ atmospheric properties and winds. Unfortunately, the atmospheric data for Venus from previous missions is sparse. Therefore, it is essential to consider various atmospheric models and scenarios from past flight data to predict Zephyr’s flight performance, specifically landing ellipse. To this end, this work compares three atmospheric models: the Venus Global Reference Atmospheric Model (Venus-GRAM), the Venus Climate Database(VCD), and an empirical wind model developed by Ralph Lorenz for the DAVINCI trajectory simulation and modeling. This paper compares the mean and variations of different atmospheric properties and winds from these atmospheric models. In addition, this work combines the atmospheric properties and the wind variability from the Venus-GRAM with the winds from the Lorenz-based model to have more stressing Venus wind dispersions that allow for more conservative trajectory analysis. Furthermore, this work relies on the DAVINCI landing ellipse size as a metric to measure how robust the trajectory analysis will be to the change in the atmospheric properties and winds of the Venus atmosphere.
This document is the viewgraph slides of the presentation. Marshall Space Flight Center's Natural Environments Branch has developed Global Reference Atmospheric Models (GRAMs) for Mars, Venus, Earth, and other solar system destinations. Mars-GRAM has been widely used for engineering applications including systems design, performance analysis, and operations planning for aerobraking, entry descent and landing, and aerocapture. Preliminary results are presented, comparing Mars-GRAM with measurements from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) during its aerobraking in Mars thermosphere. Venus-GRAM is based on the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Venus International Reference Atmosphere (VIRA), and is suitable for similar engineering applications in the thermosphere or other altitude regions of the atmosphere of Venus. Until recently, the thermosphere in Earth-GRAM has been represented by the Marshall Engineering Thermosphere (MET) model. Earth-GRAM has recently been revised. In addition to including an updated version of MET, it now includes an option to use the Naval Research Laboratory Mass Spectrometer Incoherent Scatter Radar Extended Model (NRLMSISE-00) as an alternate thermospheric model. Some characteristics and results from Venus-GRAM and Earth-GRAM thermospheres are also presented.
The Natural Environment Branch at NASA s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has the responsibility to provide engineering support to programs and projects in natural environments. The Natural Environments Branch (EV13) is responsible for natural environments definitions, modelling, database development and effects assessments. EV13 personnel develop requirements for flight projects and provide operational support for space and launch vehicle systems. To accomplish these responsibilities, Branch . personnel have developed modelling and analytical tools which include planetary atmospheres, meteoroids, ionizing radiation, plasmas and ionospheres, magnetic and gravitational fields, spacecraft charging modelling, and radiation effects on electronic parts. NASA s Meteoroid Environment Office is operated within the EV13 and provides meteoroid engineering models and shower forecasts to spacecraft designers and operators. This paper will describe the capabilities within the Natural Environments Effects Branch including; examples of natural environment definitions, radiation transport, output from the Global Reference Atmosphere Models for Earth, Venus, Mars, Titan, and Neptune), recent NASCAP 2K results from solar sail modelling, and meteor stream models
The eight destinations in the Solar System with sufficient atmosphere for either aeroentry or aeroassist, including aerocapture, are: Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn; Uranus. and Neptune, and Saturn's moon Titan. Engineering-level atmospheric models for four of these (Earth, Mars, Titan, and Neptune) have been developed for use in NASA's systems analysis studies of aerocapture applications in potential future missions. Work has recently commenced on development of a similar atmospheric model for Venus. This series of MSFC-sponsored models is identified as the Global Reference Atmosphere Model (GRAM) series. An important capability of all of the models in the GRAM series is their ability to simulate quasi-random perturbations for Monte Carlo analyses in developing guidance, navigation and control algorithms, and for thermal systems design. Example applications for Earth aeroentry and Mars aerocapture systems analysis studies are presented and illustrated. Current and planned updates to the Earth and Mars atmospheric models, in support of NASA's new exploration vision, are also presented.
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Introduction:The Global Reference Atmospheric Model (GRAM) is one of the most widely used engineering models of the atmosphere. GRAM development and maintenance has been led by NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) has provided funding support to upgrade the GRAMs since Fiscal Year 2018. NASA Langley Research Center has been working with MSFC on the upgrades.This presentation will provide details regarding the upgrades that have been made to the existing GRAMs, the development of new GRAMs, as well as the ongoing objectives, tasks, and milestones re-lated to the GRAM upgrades funded by NASA SMD. GRAM: The GRAMs are engineering-oriented atmospheric models that estimate mean values and statistical variations of the atmospheric properties for numerous planetary destinations.They provide mean values and variability for any point in the atmosphere as well as seasonal, geographic, and altitude variations. GRAM outputs include atmospheric density, temperature, pressure, winds, and chemical composition along a user-defined path.Theyhave been widely used by the engineering community because of their ability to create realistic dispersions. GRAMs have been integrated into high fidelity flight dynamic simulations of launch, entry, descent and landing (EDL), aerobraking and aerocapture. MSFC has been developing and updating GRAMs since 1974; GRAMs are currently available for Earth, Mars, Venus, Neptune, and Titan. GRAM Upgrade Status: Code Moderization.The planetary GRAMs are being rearchitected from Fortran to a common object-ori-entedC++ framework called the GRAM Suite. This new architecture creates a common GRAM library of data models and utilities. The first C++ releases of the existing planetary GRAMs (Mars, Venus, Neptune, and Titan-GRAM) in the GRAM Suite are straight conversions from the latest Fortran version. Model Upgrades.The focus of the model upgrade task is to improve the atmosphere models in the existing GRAMs and to establish a foundation for developing GRAMs for additional destinations. The GRAM ephemerishas been upgraded to the NASA Navigation and Ancillary Information Facility (NAIF) SPICE toolkit (version N0066). The calculation of the speed of sound has also been improved in the GRAMs. The GRAM team has received updated Mars General Circulation Model (MGCM) datasets from NASA Ames Research Center. Mars Global Ionosphere-Thermosphere Model (M-GITM) data is being obtained toreplace the Mars Thermospheric General Circulation Model (MTGCM) data in legacy Mars-GRAM. M-GITM and updated MGCM data will be incorporated into a future GRAM Suite release.Twoprojects that will improve the atmospheric model data in the GRAMs have been funded by the GRAM team since Fiscal Year 2020. Sanjay Limaye and Patrick Fry at the University of Wisconsin are reanalyzing the Venus Express radio occultation observations and analyzing the Akatsukiradio occultation observations.This will lead tothe calculation of number density, temperature, and pressure profiles for the 40-90 km altitude range. Kunio Sayanagi, Justin Garland, and Ryan McCabeat Hampton University are developing empirical global models for Venus,Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Titan that incorporates the latest data available for each of these planetary destinations. Upgraded GRAM Releases. GRAM Suite Version 1.0 was released in May 2020 and contains the rearchitected Neptune-GRAM, including the common GRAM framework and planet–specific code. GRAM Suite Version 1.1 was released in September 2020 and addedthe rearchitected Titan-GRAM to the GRAM Suite. A User Guide and Programmer’s Manualarereleased with all GRAMs. The rearchitected Mars and Venus-GRAMs will be released in upcomingversions of the GRAM Suite. New GRAM Releases. New GRAMs have been de-veloped for Uranus and Jupiter. Uranus-GRAM is based on an individual profile generated by Gary Allen (ARC) from Voyager 2 occultation data and will be released in GRAM Suite Version 1.2. Jupiter-GRAM is based on individual profile produced from Al Seiff’s Ju-piter model[1].Jupiter-GRAM will be released in GRAM Suite Version 1.3. Saturn-GRAM is currently under development and will be released in a future version of the GRAM Suite. Conclusions: GRAMs are vital and frequently used toolsets. Releases of the GRAM Suite, upgrades of the existing planetary GRAMs, and development of new planetary GRAMs are ongoing. NASA SMD funding has been essential to addressing current limitations and accomplishing GRAM developmental goals. Continua-tion ofSMD fundingwill ensure the development, up-grades, and maintenance of the GRAMs. References: [1] Seiff, A., et al. (1998) JGR, 103, 22,857-22,889. Acknowledgments: The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the NASA SMD
Aeroassist is a broad category of advanced transportation technology encompassing aerocapture, aerobraking, aeroentry, precision landing, hazard detection and avoidance, and aerogravity assist. The eight destinations in the Solar System with sufficient atmosphere to enable aeroassist technology are Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn's moon Titan. Engineering-level atmospheric models for five of these targets - Earth, Mars, Titan, Neptune, and Venus - have been developed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. These models are useful as tools in mission planning and systems analysis studies associated with aeroassist applications. The series of models is collectively named the Global Reference Atmospheric Model or GRAM series. An important capability of all the models in the GRAM series is their ability to simulate quasi-random perturbations for Monte Carlo analysis in developing guidance, navigation and control algorithms, for aerothermal design, and for other applications sensitive to atmospheric variability. Recent example applications are discussed.
• Engineering-oriented atmospheric models that estimate mean values and statistical variations of atmospheric properties for numerous planetary destinations • Currently available for Earth, Mars, Venus, Titan, Neptune, Uranus, and Jupiter • Outputs include atmospheric density, temperature, pressure, chemical composition, radiative fluxes (for Mars-GRAM), and wind components along a user-defined path – Includes seasonal, diurnal, geographic, and altitude variations • Widely used by the engineering community because of their ability to create realistic atmospheric dispersions • Can be integrated into high fidelity flight dynamic simulations of launch, entry, descent and landing (EDL), aerobraking and aerocapture • Optional trajectory input file consisting of time, height, latitude, and longitude can be used to provide the GRAM trajectory path • Optional auxiliary profile consisting of height, latitude, longitude, temperature, pressure, density, eastward wind, and northward wind may be used to replace model data in the GRAMs • Not a forecast model
• GRAMs are engineering-oriented atmospheric models that estimate mean values and statistical variations of atmospheric properties for numerous planetary destinations – Outputs atmospheric density, temperature, pressure, winds, and chemical composition along a user-defined path – Provide mean values and variability for any point in an atmosphere – Includes seasonal, geographic, and altitude variations – Used by engineering community because of their ability to create realistic atmospheric dispersions; can be integrated into high fidelity flight dynamic simulations of launch, entry, descent, and landing (EDL), aerobraking, and aerocapture • GRAMs are not forecast models • GRAMs are available for: Earth, Mars, Venus, Neptune, Titan, Jupiter, and Uranus • Available through the NASA Software Catalog https://software.nasa.gov/software/MFS-33888-1
Reference or standard atmospheric models have long been used for design and mission planning of various aerospace systems. The NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Global Reference Atmospheric Model (GRAM) was developed in response to the need for a design reference atmosphere that provides complete global geographical variability, and complete altitude coverage (surface to orbital altitudes) as well as complete seasonal and monthly variability of the thermodynamic variables and wind components. A unique feature of GRAM is that, addition to providing the geographical, height, and monthly variation of the mean atmospheric state, it includes the ability to simulate spatial and temporal perturbations in these atmospheric parameters (e.g. fluctuations due to turbulence and other atmospheric perturbation phenomena). A summary comparing GRAM features to characteristics and features of other reference or standard atmospheric models, can be found Guide to Reference and Standard Atmosphere Models. The original GRAM has undergone a series of improvements over the years with recent additions and changes. The software program is called Earth-GRAM2007 to distinguish it from similar programs for other bodies (e.g. Mars, Venus, Neptune, and Titan). However, in order to make this Technical Memorandum (TM) more readable, the software will be referred to simply as GRAM07 or GRAM unless additional clarity is needed. Section 1 provides an overview of the basic features of GRAM07 including the newly added features. Section 2 provides a more detailed description of GRAM07 and how the model output generated. Section 3 presents sample results. Appendices A and B describe the Global Upper Air Climatic Atlas (GUACA) data and the Global Gridded Air Statistics (GGUAS) database. Appendix C provides instructions for compiling and running GRAM07. Appendix D gives a description of the required NAMELIST format input. Appendix E gives sample output. Appendix F provides a list of available parameters to enable the user to generate special output. Appendix G gives an example and guidance on incorporating GRAM07 as a subroutine in other programs such as trajectory codes or orbital propagation routines.
Introduction: The Global Reference Atmospheric Model (GRAM) is one of the most widely used engineering models of planetary atmospheres. The GRAM upgrades are being developed by NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and NASA Langley Research Center. This presentation will provide details regarding the upgrades to the existing GRAMs, the development of new GRAMs, and the ongoing objectives, tasks, and milestones related to the GRAM upgrades funded by the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD). GRAM: The GRAMs are engineering-oriented atmospheric models that estimate mean values and statistical variations of the atmospheric properties for numerous planetary destinations. They provide mean values and variability for any point in the atmosphere as well as seasonal, geographic, and altitude variations. GRAM outputs include atmospheric density, temperature, pressure, winds, and chemical composition along a user-defined path. They are extensively used by the engineering community because of their ability to create realistic dispersions. GRAMs have been integrated into high fidelity flight dynamic simulations of launch, entry, descent and landing (EDL), aerobraking and aerocapture. GRAMs are currently available for Earth, Mars, Venus, Neptune, Titan, and Uranus. Outer Planet GRAM Upgrade Status: Code Modernization. The outer planet GRAMs have been rearchitected from Fortran to a common object-oriented C++ framework called the GRAM Suite. This new architecture creates a common GRAM library of data models and utilities. The first C++ releases of the rearchitected legacy outer planet GRAMs (Neptune and Titan-GRAM) are straight conversions from the latest Fortran version. Model Upgrades. The focus of the model upgrade task is to improve the atmosphere models in the existing GRAMs and to establish a foundation for developing GRAMs for additional destinations. The GRAM ephemeris has been upgraded to the NASA Navigation and Ancillary Information Facility (NAIF) SPICE toolkit (version N0066). The calculation of the speed of sound has also been improved in the GRAMs. In FY20, the GRAM project established a contract with Hampton University to develop empirical global models for Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Titan. Upgraded Outer Planet GRAM Releases. GRAM Suite Version 1.0 was released in May 2020 and contains the rearchitected Neptune-GRAM, including the common GRAM framework and planet–specific code. GRAM Suite Version 1.1 was released in September 2020 and added the rearchitected Titan-GRAM to the GRAM Suite. A User Guide and Programmer’s Manual are released with all GRAMs. New Outer Planet GRAM Releases. New GRAMs have been developed for Uranus and Jupiter. Uranus-GRAM is based on the NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) Uranus Atmospheric Model [1,2] and was released in GRAM Suite Version 1.2 in July 2021. Jupiter-GRAM is based on Galileo probe Atmospheric Structure Instrument (ASI) data from Seiff et al. [3] Saturn-GRAM is also under development. Both Jupiter and Saturn-GRAM will be released in future versions of the GRAM Suite. Conclusions: GRAMs are vital and frequently used toolsets. Releases of the GRAM Suite, upgrades of the existing planetary GRAMs, and development of new planetary GRAMs are ongoing. Titan-GRAM atmosphere model upgrades will be included in the next phase of GRAM tasks. References: [1] Allen Jr., G.A. et al. (2014) 11th International Planetary Probe Workshop, Abstract #8023. [2] Allen Jr., G.A. et al. (2014) Workshop on the Study of the Ice Giant Planets, Abstract #2001. [3] Seiff, A. et al. (1998) JGR, 103, 22,857 -22,889. Acknowledgments: The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the NASA SMD.