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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1992

Mars planetary geodesy using earth-based observations of Mars landers

The potential for earth-based radiometric observations of a network of Mars surface landers to provide accurate determination of the Mars rotational orientation in inertial space is investigated. An error budget is presented for the carrier phase data type and related to system requirements for the surface landers. Differencing the carrier phase observations for a pair of Mars landers can provide extremely high precision due to common-mode error cancellation. Results of a covariance analysis are presented which show that Mars orientation can be determined to better than 10 milliarcsec, corresponding to decimeter distances at the planet surface. Recommendations on how to incorporate these concepts into future Mars missions, such as the Mars Environmental Survey, are discussed.

Edwards, C. D., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1996

A consensus approach to planetary protection requirements: recommendations for Mars lander missions

Over the last several years, the nature of the surface conditions on the planet Mars, our knowledge of the growth capabilities of Earth organisms under extreme conditions, and future opportunities for Mars exploration have been under extensive review in the United States and elsewhere. As part of these examinations, in 1992 the US Space Studies Board made a series of recommendations to NASA on the requirements that should be implemented on future missions that will explore Mars. In particular, significant changes were recommended in the requirements for Mars landers, changes that significantly alleviated the burden of planetary protection implementation for these missions. In this paper we propose a resolution implementing this new set of recommendations, for adoption by COSPAR at its 30th meeting in Hamburg. We also discuss future directions and study areas for planetary protection, in light of changing plans for Mars exploration.

NASA Discipline Number 99-99↗
NASA NTRS1971

Manned Mars lander launch-to-rendezvous analysis for a 1981 Venus-swingby mission

A description is given of the return of a manned Mars lander by a launch from the surface of Mars to some intermediate orbit, with subsequent maneuvers to rendezvous with a primary spacecraft (called the orbiter) in a Mars parking orbit. The type of Mars mission used to demonstrate the analytical technique includes a Venus swingby on the Mars-to-Earth portion of the trajectory in order to reduce the total mission velocity requirement. The total velocity requirement for the mission considered (if inplane launches are assumed) is approximately 17,500 ft/sec.

Faust, N. L.↗
NASA NTRS2001

An Inviscid Computational Study of Three '07 Mars Lander Aeroshell Configurations Over a Mach Number Range of 2.3 to 4.5

This report documents the results of a study conducted to compute the inviscid longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics of three aeroshell configurations of the proposed '07 Mars lander. This was done in support of the activity to design a smart lander for the proposed '07 Mars mission. In addition to the three configurations with tabs designated as the shelf, the canted, and the Ames, the baseline configuration (without tab) was also studied. The unstructured grid inviscid CFD software FELISA was used, and the longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics of the four configurations were computed for Mach number of 2.3, 2.7, 3.5, and 4.5, and for an angle of attack range of -4 to 20 degrees. Wind tunnel tests had been conducted on scale models of these four configurations in the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel, NASA Langley Research Center. Present computational results are compared with the data from these tests. Some differences are noticed between the two results, particularly at the lower Mach numbers. These differences are attributed to the pressures acting on the aft body. Most of the present computations were done on the forebody only. Additional computations were done on the full body (forebody and afterbody) for the baseline and the Shelf configurations. Results of some computations done (to simulate flight conditions) with the Mars gas option and with an effective gamma are also included.

Prabhu, Ramadas K.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Inviscid Flow Computations of Several Aeroshell Configurations for a '07 Mars Lander

This report documents the results of an inviscid computational study conducted on several candidate aeroshell configurations for a proposed '07 Mars lander. Eleven different configurations were considered, and the aerodynamic characteristics of each of these were computed for a Mach number of 23.7 at 10, 15, and 20 degree angles of attack. The unstructured grid software FELISA with the equilibrium Mars gas option was used for these computations. The pitching moment characteristics and the lift-to-drag ratios at trim angle of attack of each of these configurations were examined to make a selection. The criterion for selection was that the configuration should be longitudinally stable, and should trim at an angle of attack where the L/D is -0.25. Based on the present study, two configurations were selected for further study

Prabhu, Ramadas K.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Mission and Design Sensitivities for Human Mars Landers Using Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators

Landing humans on Mars is one of NASA's long term goals. The Evolvable Mars Campaign (EMC) is focused on evaluating architectural trade options to define the capabilities and elements needed for a sustainable human presence on the surface of Mars. The EMC study teams have considered a variety of in-space propulsion options and surface mission options. As we seek to better understand how these choices affect the performance of the lander, this work informs and influences requirements for transportation systems to deliver the landers to Mars and enable these missions. This paper presents the effects of mission and vehicle design options on lander mass and performance. Beginning with Earth launch, options include fairing size assumptions, co-manifesting other elements with the lander, and Earth-Moon vicinity operations. Capturing into Mars orbit using either aerocapture or propulsive capture is assessed. For entry, descent, and landing both storable as well as oxygen and methane propellant combinations are considered, engine thrust level is assessed, and sensitivity to landed payload mass is presented. This paper focuses on lander designs using the Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators (HIAD), one of several entry system technologies currently considered for human missions.

Polsgrove, Tara P.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Closed-Loop Simulations of Human-Scale Mars Lander Descent Trajectories on Frontier

A computational campaign was performed to run high-fidelity, free-flight simulations of a human-scale Mars lander concept vehicle decelerating under retropropulsion through the Martian atmosphere with closed-loop flight control. A novel approach is used to couple computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software with a mature flight mechanics package, where the two applications communicate in real-time across two geographically-dispersed computational facilities. The CFD is performed on the Frontier exascale system located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the flight mechanics are executed on a system located at NASA Langley Research Center. In the current campaign, CFD is performed using finite-rate chemistry to account for the interactions between the LOXCH 4 engines and the CO 2 Martian atmosphere. A simulation of a closed-loop main engine throttling and RCS actuation is presented, demonstrating that the vehicle and model are able to maintain stability in a long-duration CFD-in-the-loop flight simulation. Comparisons are made to a reduced order model ignoring aero-propulsive interactions.

CFD↗
NASA NTRS2013

Feasibility of a Dragon-Derived Mars Lander for Scientific and Human-Precursor Missions

A minimally-modified SpaceX Dragon capsule launched on a Falcon Heavy rocket presents the possibility of a new low-cost, high-capacity Mars lander for robotic missions. We have been evaluating such a "Red Dragon" platform as an option for the Icebreaker Discovery Program mission concept. Dragon is currently in service ferrying cargo to and from the International Space Station, and a crew transport version is in development. The upcoming version, unlike other Earth-return vehicles, exhibits most of the capabilities necessary to land on Mars. In particular, it has a set of high-thrust, throttleable, storable bi-propellant "SuperDraco" engines integrated directly into the capsule that are intended for launch abort and powered landings on Earth. These thrusters provide the possibility of a parachute-free, fully-propulsive deceleration at Mars from supersonic speeds to the surface, a descent approach which would also scale well to larger future human landers. We will discuss the motivations for exploring a Red Dragon lander, the current results of our analysis of its feasibility and capabilities, and the implications of the platform for the Icebreaker mission concept. In particular, we will examine entry, descent, and landing (EDL) in detail. We will also describe the modifications to Dragon necessary for interplanetary cruise, EDL, and operations on the Martian surface. Our analysis to date indicates that a Red Dragon lander is feasible and that it would be capable of delivering more than 1000 kg of payload to sites at elevations three kilometers below the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) reference, which includes sites throughout most of the northern plains and Hellas.

Karcz, John S.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Investigation of Mars Rotational Dynamics Using Earth-based Radio Tracking of Mars Landers

The development of space geodetic techniques over the past two decades has made it possible to measure the rotational dynamics of the Earth at the milliarcsecond level, improving our geophysical models of the Earth 's interior and the interactions between the solid Earth and its atmosphere. We have found that the rotational dynamics of Mars can be determined to nearly the same level of accuracy by acquiring Earth-based two-way radio tracking observations of three or more landers globally distributed on the surface of Mars. Our results indicate that the precession and long-term obliquity changes of the Mars pole direction can be determined to an angular accuracy corresponding to about 15 cm/yr at the planet's surface. In addition, periodic nutations of the pole and seasonal variations in the spin rate of the planet can be determined to 10 cm or less. Measuring the rotation of Mars at this accuracy would greatly improve the determination of the planet' s moment of inertia and would resolve the size of a planetary fluid core, providing a valuable constraint on Mars interior models. Detecting seasonal variations in the spin rate of Mars would provide global constraints on atmospheric angular momentum changes due to sublimation of the Mars CO2 polar ice caps. Finally, observation of quasisecular changes in Mars obliquity would have significant implications for understanding long-term climatic change. The key to achieving these accuracies is a globally distributed network of Mars landers with stable, phase-coherent radio transponders. By simultaneously acquiring coherent two-way carrier phase observations between a single Earth tracking station and multiple Mars landers, Earth media errors are essentially eliminated, providing an extremely sensitive measure of changes in the differential path lengths between the Earth tracking station and the Mars landers due to Mars rotation. Time variability of the instrumental phase delay through the radio transponder may represent the limiting error source for this technique. Calibration of the transponder stability to about 0.1 ns or less, over a single tracking arc of up to 12 hr, is sufficient to provide the decimeter-level determination of Mars orientation parameters quoted above. We will provide a detailed description of the multilander tracking technique and the requirements it imposes on both the lander radio system and the Earth-based ground-tracking system. This concept is currently part of the strawman science plan for the Mars Environmental Survey (MESUR) mission and complements many of the other MESUR science goals.

Edwards, C. D., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2012

3D Visualization for Phoenix Mars Lander Science Operations

Planetary surface exploration missions present considerable operational challenges in the form of substantial communication delays, limited communication windows, and limited communication bandwidth. A 3D visualization software was developed and delivered to the 2008 Phoenix Mars Lander (PML) mission. The components of the system include an interactive 3D visualization environment called Mercator, terrain reconstruction software called the Ames Stereo Pipeline, and a server providing distributed access to terrain models. The software was successfully utilized during the mission for science analysis, site understanding, and science operations activity planning. A terrain server was implemented that provided distribution of terrain models from a central repository to clients running the Mercator software. The Ames Stereo Pipeline generates accurate, high-resolution, texture-mapped, 3D terrain models from stereo image pairs. These terrain models can then be visualized within the Mercator environment. The central cross-cutting goal for these tools is to provide an easy-to-use, high-quality, full-featured visualization environment that enhances the mission science team s ability to develop low-risk productive science activity plans. In addition, for the Mercator and Viz visualization environments, extensibility and adaptability to different missions and application areas are key design goals.

Edwards, Laurence↗
NASA NTRS2020

Computational Investigation of Powered Descent for Human-Scale Mars Landers

NASA human-scale Mars entry, descent, and landing vehicles currently under consideration have system requirements beyond the current state of the art. Specifically, heritage approaches for deceleration using parachutes and initiating engines at subsonic speeds are not adequate to land these large vehicles (50-60 metric ton entry mass) precisely (within 50 meters of a surface target). Therefore, the present approach for landing humans on Mars utilizes entry vehicles with large aerodynamic surface areas that transition to the descent and landing phase by initiating retropropulsion at supersonic speeds. Vehicle performance, including stability and control, depends on accurate characterization of the aerodynamic-propulsive interference effects, especially at engine initiation, when the vehicles are transitioning from an entry attitude to that suitable for descent and landing. This paper summarizes the human Mars entry vehicle configurations, retropropulsion integration, performance assumptions, and expected flight environment at engine initiation. Cases spanning supersonic, transonic, and subsonic conditions during powered descent are analyzed using four computational fluid dynamics codes, all of which have been previously applied to supersonic retropropulsion at varying scales and conditions. The results of the analysis are used to develop an aerodynamic-propulsive interference model that has since been applied in trajectory simulations to augment the fidelity of human-scale Mars entry vehicle performance.

Ashley M Korzun↗
NASA NTRS1995

Mars Lander Robotics and Machine Vision Capabilities for in situ Planetary Science

We overview our recent progress in lander-based robotics for Mars planetary science. Utilizing a 1:1 scale laboratory replica of the NASA Mars Surveyor '98 mission, JPL engineers and Mars sciencce colleagues have demonstrated approaches to lander science functions such as robotic sample acquisiiton and deposition, end-effector based microscopic viewing, hand-carried science instrument data collection, and science instrument emplacement by a robot.

robotics↗
NASA NTRS2016

Explorations of Quantum-Classical Approaches to Scheduling a Mars Lander Activity Problem

An effective approach to solving problems involving mixed (continuous and discrete) variables and constraints, such as hybrid systems, is to decompose them into subproblems and integrate dedicated solvers geared toward those subproblems. Here, we introduce a new framework based on a tree search algorithm to solve hybrid discrete-continuous problems that incorporates: (1) a quantum annealer that samples from the configuration space for the discrete portion and provides information about the quality of the samples, and (2) a classical computer that makes use of information from the quantum annealer to prune and focus the search as well as check a continuous constraint. We consider four variants of our algorithm, each with progressively more guidance from the results provided by the quantum annealer. We empirically test our algorithm and compare the variants on a simplified Mars Lander task scheduling problem. Variants with more guidance from the quantum annealer have better performance.

scheduling↗