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This paper summarizes work in progress to define and implement a risk management process tailored to a low-cost, high-risk, NASA mission -the Microrover Flight Experiment (MFEX, commonly called the Mars microrover).
The Microrover Flight Experiment (MFEX) is a NASA Office of Space Access and Technology flight experiment of mobile vehicle technologies, whose primary mission is to determine microrover performance in the poorly understood planetary terrain of Mars.
On 4 July 1997, the Mars Pathfinder landed on the surface of Mars carrying the first planetary rover, known as the Sojourner. Formally known as the Microrover Flight Experiment (MFEX), the Sojourner was a low cost, high-risk technology demonstration, in which new risk management techniques were tried. This paper summarizes the activities and results of the effort to conduct a low-cost, yet meaningful risk management program for the MFEX. The specific activities focused on cost, performance, schedule, and operations risks. Just as the systems engineering process was iterative and produced successive refinements of requirements, designs, etc., so was the risk management process. Qualitative risk assessments were performed first to gain some insights for refining the microrover design and operations concept. These then evolved into more quantitative analyses. Risk management lessons from the manager's perspective is presented for other low-cost, high-risk space missions.
A Microrover Flight Experiment (MFEX) based on a basic Rocky 4 design and conducted in the framework of the NASA Mars Environmental Survey (MESUR) Pathfinder program is described. The MFEX rover design features six powered wheels attached by a set of 'bogie levers' to a single body. The rover is designed to perform technology, science, and mission experiments. Instruments on the rover mechanisms will determine wheel-soil interactions, detect hazards, and determine navigational errors. Science data will be gathered using an alpha-proton-X-ray spectrometer against one or more rocks, and possible soil. The pathfinder will also serve as an engineering test of a transport and landing system for the MESUR network mission and the rover will image the lander to assess its condition.
The Microrover Flight Experiment (MFEX) is a NSAS OACT (Office of Advanced Concepts and Technology) flight experiment which, integrated with the Mars Pathfinder (MPF) lander and spacecraft system, landed on Mars on July 4, 1997.
The Microrover Flight Experiment (MFEX) is a NASA OACT flight experiment which is planned to be delivered and integrated with the Mars Pathfinder (MPF) lander and spacecraft system for landing on Mars on July 4, 1997.
The Mars Pathfinder Microrover Flight Experiment (MFEX) is a NASA Office of Space Access and Technology (OSAT) flight experiment which has been delivered and integrated with the Mars Pathfinder (MPF) lander and spacecraft system. The total cost of the MFEX mission, including all subsystem design and development, test, integration with the MPF lander and operations on Mars has been capped at $25 M??is paper discusses the process and the implementation scheme which has resulted in the development of this first Mars rover.
The Mars Pathfinder Microrover Flight Experiment (MFEX) is a NASA OACT flight experiment which is planned to be delivered and integrated with the Mars Pathfinder (MFP) lander and spacecraft system for landing on Mars on July 4, 1997. After landing, the MFEX rover is deployed from the lander and begins a 7 sol (1 sol=1 Martian day) mission to conduct technology experiments, deploy an alpha proton x-ray spectrometer (APXS) on rocks and soil, and image the lander as part of the engineering assessment of the mission after landing.
The Mars Pathfinder Microrover Flight Experiment (MFEX) will be carried by the Mars Pathfinder mission to the surface of Mars, where it will perform technology, science and Mars mission engineeering experiments in July, 1997.
This paper presents a staus report on the MESUR Pathfinder Microrover Experiment.
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This paper describes MFEX and the four factors that contribute to the feasibility of small rovers.
This paper summarizes the activites and results of the effort to conduct a low-cost, yet meaningful risk management program for the MFEX, which was originally designated as a high risk payload.