An Experimental Investigation of the Dynamics of the MSL Rover Landing Event
A developmental test program was conducted for the touchdown event of the Mars Science Laboratory rover. The test hardware consisted of a full-size 3/8th mass scaled test rover, a descent stage mass mock-up, and a Vectran triple-bridle system over 6 meters in length. More than eighty landing tests were performed on terrains of various types, including level rigid surfaces, level and sloped sand surfaces, and level and sloped surfaces with rocks. Landing velocities ranged between 0.4 m/s and 1.4 m/s. A computational model of the landings was developed using the ADAMS analysis program, and validation of this model has been performed through test-analysis comparisons.
Planetary Landing↗