An Overview of Dynamics Testing of Mars Pathfinder for the Martian Landing Environment
Mars Pathfinder was part of a new class of smaller missions utilizing the faster, better, cheaper approach to planetary exploration.
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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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Mars Pathfinder Project Progress Report
Mars Pathfinder, launching on December 2, 1996 and landing on mars on July 4, 1997, will
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Microbiological Cleanliness of the Mars Pathfinder Spacecraft
The recently launched Mars Pathfinder spacecraft, involving a lander and a rover scheduled to land on Mars in July 1997, was required to comply with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration planetary protection regulations for such space missions.
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Back to Mars: The Mars Pathfinder Mission
Mars Pathfinder successfully landed on the surface of Mars on July 4, 1997, and ushered in a new era in Mars exploration. This era will feature numberous low cost missions which will perform important science investigations and engage the world's population in the excitement of planetary exploration.
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Mars Pathfinder Rover Egress Deployable Ramp Assembly
The Mars Pathfinder Program is a NASA Discovery Mission led by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to launch and place a small planetary Rover for exploration of the Martian surface.
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Mars Pathfinder Lander Deployment Mechanisms
The Mars Pathfinder Lander will land, right itself, and open so that none of its airbag covers its solar cells. This requires two different types of mechanisms, the Airbag Retraction Actuators, and the Lander Petal Actuators which are designed for a high torque, low temperature, dirty environment, and limited life application. The development of these actuators investigated low temperature lubrication, Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) to cut gears, and gear design for limited life use.
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Mars Pathfinder Cruise Stage/Entry Vehicle Separation Dynamics
Prior to atmospheric entry, Mars Pathfinder flight system will separate its entry vehicle from its cruise stage, and establish the entry conditions for a passive and unconventional entry, descent, and landing approach. This paper summarizes a separation dynamics analysis conducted to demonstrate that the cruise separation system design is viable and ensure that adequate design margins exist with the effects from parameter uncertainty included.
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Flight System Testbed Verification of the Mars Pathfinder Attitude Control System
Pathfinder is the first in a series of Mars exploration projects that are fundamental elements of the Discovery Program missions funded by the (NASA).
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Mars Pathfinder Project Progress Report
This paper reports on thestatus of Mars Pathfinder's drive to space qualify its flight system for launch on December 2, 1996 under a cost cap- in particular how the project is dealing with qualification fo its entry, descent and landing event and the surface operations phase as well as the normal launch and space flight phases. It also reports on its landing site selection and science plan.
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Mars Pathfinder Mission Operations Concept
Mars Pathfinder is one of the first of NASA's Discovery series of low cost planetary missions. A number of innovative design, fabrication, and management techniques have been adopted during the development phase to stay within the percent 150M (FY
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Mars Pathfinder Spacecraft, Lander, and Rover Testing in Simulated Deep Space and Mars Surface Environments
This paper describes the test program which was conducted to verify the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft thermal design. The testing program required subjecting the mission hardware to both deep space and Mars surface conditions.
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Integrated Pump Assembly - An Active Cooling System for Mars Pathfinder Thermal Control
The Mars Pathfinder spacecraft which will be launched in December 1996 features an active cooling system for controlling the temperature of the spacecraft. This will be the first time that such a mechanical pump cooling system is used on an interplanetary or long duration flight (over two weeks) in space. The major element of the cooling system is the Integrated Pump Assembly (IPA). It uses centrifugal pumps to circulate liquid Freon to transfer heat from spacecraft electronics to an external radiator. This paper describes the design, fabrication, assembly, and testing of the IPA.
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Mars Pathfinder Mission Operations Concept
Mars Pathfinder is one of NASA s new low-cost planetary missions developed to meet a $150 million cost cap. This paper describes the operations philosophy, requirements, organizational structure, and ground data system.
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Mars Pathfinder Science Investigations and Objectives
Pathfinder's primary ojective is to demonstrate an inexpensive system for curise, entry, descent, and landing on mars. Additional objective include the deployent and operation of various science instruments: a stereoscopic imager with filters on a pop up mast, and alpha proton x-ray spectometer (APXS), and an atmospheric structure instrument/meteorology package
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Using Virtual Reality for Science Mission Planning: A Mars Pathfinder Case
The Mars Pathfinder Project GDS Team has designed software that integrates virtual reality technology with existing JPL Navigational Ancillary Information Facilities (NAIF) and image processing capabilities. The result is an interactive, workstation-based application software that provides a high resolution 3-dimensional stereo display of Mars as if it were viewed through the lander camera. This paper describes the architecture and characteristics of this science mission planning software and discusses possible uses of this software by other planetary missions.
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Mars Pathfinder Mission Operations Concepts
The Mars Pathfinder Project plans a December 1996 launch of a single spacecraft.
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Selection of the Mars Pathfinder Landing Site
The Mars Pathfinder spacecraft will land on a depositional fan near the mouth of the catastrophic outflow channel, Ares Vallis (19.5°N, 32.8°W). This site offers the prospect of analyzing a variety of rock types from the ancient cratered highlands, intermediate age ridged plains, and reworked channel deposits. Analyses of these rocks by Pathfnder instruments will enable first order scientific questions to be addressed, such as differentiation of the crust, the development of weathering products and the nature of the early environment, as well as their subsequent evolution on Mars.
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Model Correlation for Mars Pathfinder Entry, Descent and Landing Simulation
Two multi-body drop tests were conducted to provide data to calibrate and verify a multi-body dynamics computer model, which was the major analytical tool used to study the entry, descent and landing (EDL) of the Mars Pathfinder mission. A general summary of the tests and important features of the simulation model are presented in this paper. Good correlation between between test results and analytical predictions were achieved.
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