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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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At least 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2006

UHF Relay Antenna Measurements on Phoenix Mars Lander Mockup

The Phoenix Lander, a NASA Discovery mission which lands on Mars in the spring of 2008, will rely entirely on UHF relay links between it and Mars orbiting assets, (Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)), to communicate with the Earth. As with the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) relay system, non directional antennas will be used to provide roughly emispherical coverage of the Martian sky. Phoenix lander deck object pattern interference and obscuration are significant, and needed to be quantified to answer system level design and operations questions. This paper describes the measurement campaign carried out at the SPAWAR (Space and Naval Warfare Research) Systems Center San Diego (SSC-SD) hemispherical antenna range, using a Phoenix deck mockup and engineering model antennas. One goal of the measurements was to evaluate two analysis tools, the time domain CST, and the moment method WIPL-D software packages. These would subsequently be used to provide pattern analysis for configurations that would be difficult and expensive to model and test on Earth.

scattering↗
NASA NTRS2019

Maneuver design overview of the 2018 InSight Mars lander mission

Launched on May 5, 2018, the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport (InSight) spacecraft landed safely on Mars on November 26, 2018. To deliver the lander accurately to the landing site, six trajectory correction maneuvers (TCMs) were planned along the reference trajectory from Earth launch to Mars entry. For the last two TCMs, there were two corresponding contingency TCMs planned that could be executed in the event that the corresponding nominal one failed. There were also twenty pre-designed menu TCMs available for execution at the time of the last contingency TCM, about 8 hours before the Mars entry, descent, and landing. This navigation paper overviews the maneuver design of each TCM, as well as how each one actually performed during operations.

Wallace, Mark↗
NASA NTRS1999

Location and Geologic Setting for the Three U.S. Mars Landers

Super resolution of the horizon at both Viking landing sites has revealed "new" features we use for triangulation, similar to the approach used during the Mars Pathfinder Mission. We propose alternative landing site locations for both landers for which we believe the confidence is very high. Super resolution of VL-1 images also reveals some of the drift material at the site to consist of gravel-size deposits. Since our proposed location for VL-2 is NOT on the Mie ejecta blanket, the blocky surface around the lander may represent the meter-scale texture of "smooth palins" in the region. The Viking Lander panchromatic images typically offer more repeat coverage than does the IMP on Mars Pathfinder, due to the longer duration of these landed missions. Sub-pixel offsets, necessary for super resolution to work, appear to be attributable to thermal effects on the lander and settling of the lander over time. Due to the greater repeat coverage (particularly in the near and mid-fields) and all-panchromatic images, the gain in resolution by super resolution processing is better for Viking than it is with most IMP image sequences. This enhances the study of textural details near the lander and enables the identification rock and surface textures at greater distances from the lander. Discernment of stereo in super resolution im-ages is possible to great distances from the lander, but is limited by the non-rotating baseline between the two cameras and the shorter height of the cameras above the ground compared to IMP. With super resolution, details of horizon features, such as blockiness and crater rim shapes, may be better correlated with Orbiter images. A number of horizon features - craters and ridges - were identified at VL-1 during the misison, and a few hils and subtle ridges were identified at VL-2. We have added a few "new" horizon features for triangulation at the VL-2 landing site in Utopia Planitia. These features were used for independent triangulation with features visible in Viking Orbiter and MGS MOC images, though the actual location of VL-1 lies in a data dropout in the MOC image of the area. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Parker, T. J.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Robotics Instrument Deployment System Surface Operations for the InSight Mars Lander

This paper describes NASA’s first successful precision robotics instrument placement and release on another astronomical body since Apollo. This operations breakthrough enabled NASA’s InSight lander to detect the first known ‘marsquake’, a faint trembling of Mars’s surface on 6th April 2019, 128 Martian days after landing on Mars on the 26th November 2018. This is the first quake detected on an astronomical body other than Earth or the Moon. This paper describes the operations of the Robotics Instrument Deployment Systems (IDS) that successfully deployed the InSight science payload to the surface of Mars. The payload includes a seismometer (SEIS), Wind and Thermal Shield (WTS) and Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3), enabling scientists to perform the first comprehensive surface-based geophysical investigation of Mars’ interior structure. In addition, the paper describes the IDS planning and command sequence generation process used for the successful deployment of SEIS, WTS and HP3 on the surface of Mars. The paper concludes with recommendations based on the experience gained from InSight IDS operations. This includes identified technology gaps in the operations of in-situ manipulators for planetary exploration.

Yen, Jeng↗
NASA NTRS1972

Seismic investigations - The Viking Mars Lander.

A lightweight three-component short period seismometer has been developed for preliminary seismic investigations of Mars. Because of weight and data-rate constraints the Viking seismic experiment is far from optimal but it should, at a minimum, provide information about the microseismic level and an upper bound on the seismicity of the planet. If Mars is tectonically active a start can be made on the problem of the internal structure, dynamics, and composition of the planet. A good distribution of modest sized Marsquakes will make it possible to determine if Mars has a core. The size of the core is related to the conditions of planetary formation.

Anderson, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Multiplying Mars Lander Opportunities with Marsdrop Microlanders

From canyons to glaciers, from geology to astrobiology, the amount of exciting surface science awaiting us at Mars greatly outstrips available mission opportunities. Based on the thrice -flown Aerospace Corporation Earth Reentry Breakup Recorder (REBR), we present a method for accurate landing of small instrument payloads on Mars, utilizing excess cruise -stage mass on larger missions. One to a few such microlanders might add 1-5% to the cost of a primary mission with inconsequential risk. Using the REBR and JPL Deep Space 2 starting points for a passively stable entry vehicle provides a low mass and low ballistic coefficient, enabling subsonic d employment of a steerable parawing glider, capable of 10+ km of guided flight at a 3:1 glide ratio. Originally developed for the Gemini human space program, the parawing is attractive for a volume -limited microprobe, minimizing descent velocity, and providing sufficient remaining volume for a useful scientific payload. The ability to steer the parawing during descent opens unique opportunities, including terrain- relative navigation for landing within tens of meters of one of several specified targets within a given uncertainty ellipse. In addition to scientific value, some Mars human exploration Strategic Knowledge Gaps could be addressed with deployment of focused instruments at multiple locations.

Staehle, Robert L.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Aerodynamic Performance of the 2018 InSight Mars Lander

InSight touched down in Elysium Planitia on 26 November 2018, becoming NASA’s eighth successful entry, descent, and landing (EDL) at Mars. InSight was a build-to-print of the successful 2008 Phoenix EDL system, flying a non-spinning, ballistic trajectory with a 70-degree sphere-cone aeroshell (2.65-meter diameter), disk-gap-band parachute, and pulsed terminal descent and landing engines. This work discusses entry aerodynamic performance for InSight up to parachute deployment, including pre-flight aerodynamics predictions and comparisons with post-flight reconstruction, as well as comparisons with the Phoenix reconstruction.

Ashley M Korzun↗
NASA NTRS1972

Mars lander position estimation in the presence of ephemeris biases.

The process of estimating the location of a spacecraft landed on the surface of Mars is investigated through the application of statistical estimation techniques to earth-based radio tracking data. The spacecraft location and the tracking geometry and schedule are consistent with Viking-type mission constraints. With mission control requirements in mind, the investigation is restricted to analysis of a short data arc (approximately 3 days). Statistics of the spacecraft location are obtained through analysis of (direct-link) tracking data for the landed spacecraft and through simultaneous analysis of tracking data for both a landed and an orbiting spacecraft. These estimates include the effects of model uncertainties in the ephemeris of Mars, tracking station locations, the Mars rotational period, the Mars gravity field, and the orientation of Mars axis of rotation. The most significant of these effects is shown to be due to the Mars ephemeris uncertainty. A dual spacecraft tracking technique is presented for substantially reducing these ephemeris effects.

Blackshear, W. T.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Supersonic Retro-Propulsion for Future High-Mass Robotic Mars Lander Missions

A feasibility study was conducted to investigate the potential performance advantages of Supersonic Retro-Propulsion in support of future high-mass Mars robotic landing missions. A notional reference architecture for a potential future Mars Sample Return formed the basis for assuming a 4.7 m diameter SRP entry vehicle containing the Mars Ascent Vehicle element. Configuration analysis was conducted to ensure that the payload and required SRP components (including engines and propellant) fit within in the capsule volume. Optimized trajectory analysis highlighted several key performance sensitivities of SRP for ballistic coefficients of 150, 300, and 450 kg/m2. These results indicated a broad SRP ignition envelope (1-4 km altitude, 300-750 m/s velocity), as well as relatively small propellant mass fraction sensitivities to SRP thrust/weight, landing site elevation, and the application of a 4-g entry deceleration constraint (relevant for future crewed mission trajectories). Finally, mass-sizing was performed to assess sensitivities to ballistic coefficient and entry velocity, and showcased the ability of the SRP system to land payload masses on the order of twice that of MSL.

Whetsel, Charles↗
NASA NTRS2000

An Investigation of Terminal Guidance and Control Techniques for a Robotic Mars Lander

Continuing on previous work, various precision landing control algorithms arc examined with the goal of minimizing the landed distance to a specified location on the Mars surface. This study considers a set of points from parachute handoff to touchdown on the surface. The first scenario considers a reverse gravity turn to a hover condition 500 meters above the surface and then uses lateral thrusting to minimize die range to target. The second scenario examines a guided, lifting parachute followed by a powered gravity turn to the targeted landing site. The third scenario considers thrust vectoring while on the ballistic parachute, followed by a reverse gravity turn to touchdown.

Birge, Brian K.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Mass spectrometric analysis of organic compounds, water and volatile constituents in the atmosphere and surface of Mars - The Viking Mars Lander.

An experiment centering around a mass spectrometer is described, which is aimed at the identification of organic substances present in the top 10 cm of the surface of Mars and an analysis of the atmosphere for major and minor constituents as well as isotopic abundances. In addition, an indication of the abundance of water in the surface and some information concerning the mineralogy can be obtained by monitoring the gases produced upon heating the soil sample. The organic material will simply be expelled by heating to 150, 300, and 500 C into the carrier gas stream of a gas chromatograph interfaced to the mass spectrometer or by slowly heating the sample in direct communication with the spectrometer. It is planned to analyze a total of up to nine soil samples in order to study diurnal and seasonal variations. The system is designed to give useful data even for minor constituents if the total of organics should be as low as 5 ppm. The spectrometer covers the mass range of 12-200 with adequate resolution.

Anderson, D. M.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Biological experiments - The Viking Mars Lander.

From the biological point of view, the Viking 1975 mission might be regarded as a test of the Oparin-Haldane hypothesis concerning the chemical evolution of living systems. Mars is a planet whose early history was probably similar to that of the earth and whose present environmental conditions may be compatible with the maintenance of living organisms. Thus, the biological experiments aboard the Viking I spacecraft are primarily concerned with the question of whether chemical evolution on Mars took place, and, if so, whether the process reached a level of complexity characteristic of replicating systems.

Klein, H. P.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Logistics impacts on lunar and Mars lander design

The results of trade studies and evaluations done to determine the impact of accommodation and unloading of cargo on spacecraft design are reviewed. It is concluded that the effectiveness of the surface mission to moon or Mars is best accomplished by providing for undivided cargo delivery and for cargo unloading indirectly to earth surface without the aid of a surface system unloader, for immediate cargo drop during descent abort to orbit, for immediate cargo drop in case of need for an emergency ascent from the surface, and for contiguous placement of cab and surface habitat modules. For exploration architectures that include multiple site visits within as much as several hundred km of each other, use of excursion vehicles capable of short suborbital hops to secondary sites is much less expensive in terms of IMLEO than a strategy of using multiple landers or multiple missions.

Donahue, Benjamin↗
NASA NTRS1973

Inorganic chemical investigation by X-ray fluorescence analysis - The Viking Mars Lander

The inorganic chemical investigation experiment added in August 1972 to the Viking Lander scientific package uses an energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer in which four sealed, gas-filled proportional counters detect X-rays emitted from samples of the Martian surface materials irradiated by X-rays from radioisotope sources (Fe-55 and Cd-109). The instrument is inside the Lander body, and samples are to be delivered to it by the Viking Lander Surface Sampler. Instrument design is described along with details of the data processing and analysis procedures. The results of the investigation will characterize the surface materials of Mars as to elemental composition with accuracies ranging from a few tens of parts per million (at the trace-element level) to a few per cent (for major elements) depending on the element in question.

Toulmin, P., III↗
NASA NTRS2005

Surface characteristics of spacecraft components affect the aggregation of microorganisms and may lead to different survival rates of bacteria on Mars landers

Layers of dormant endospores of Bacillus subtilis HA101 were applied to eight different spacecraft materials and exposed to martian conditions of low pressure (8.5 mbar), low temperature (-10 degrees C), and high CO(2) gas composition and irradiated with a Mars-normal ultraviolet (UV-visible- near-infrared spectrum. Bacterial layers were exposed to either 1 min or 1 h of Mars-normal UV irradiation, which simulated clear-sky conditions on equatorial Mars (0.1 tau). When exposed to 1 min of Mars UV irradiation, the numbers of viable endospores of B. subtilis were reduced three to four orders of magnitude for two brands of aluminum (Al), stainless steel, chemfilm-treated Al, clear-anodized Al, and black-anodized Al coupons. In contrast, bacterial survival was reduced only one to two orders of magnitude for endospores on the non-metal materials astroquartz and graphite composite when bacterial endospores were exposed to 1 min of Mars UV irradiation. When bacterial monolayers were exposed to 1 h of Mars UV irradiation, no viable bacteria were recovered from the six metal coupons listed above. In contrast, bacterial survival was reduced only two to three orders of magnitude for spore layers on astroquartz and graphite composite exposed to 1 h of Mars UV irradiation. Scanning electron microscopy images of the bacterial monolayers on all eight spacecraft materials revealed that endospores of B. subtilis formed large aggregates of multilayered spores on astroquartz and graphite composite, but not on the other six spacecraft materials. It is likely that the formation of multilayered aggregates of endospores on astroquartz and graphite composite is responsible for the enhanced survival of bacterial cells on these materials.

Mars↗
NASA NTRS1975

Radiometric performance of the Viking Mars lander cameras

The Viking lander cameras feature an array of 12 silicon photodiodes for electronic focus selection and multispectral imaging. Comparisons of absolute radiometric calibrations of the four cameras selected for the mission to Mars with performance predictions based on their design data revealed minor discrepancies. These discrepancies were caused primarily by the method used to calibrate the photosensor array and apparently also from light reflections internal to the array. The sensitivity and dynamic range of all camera channels are found to be sufficient for high quality pictures, providing that the commandable gains and offsets can be optimized for the scene radiance; otherwise, the quantization noise may be too high or the dynamic range too low for an adequate characterization of the scene.

Huck, F. O.↗