Mars Ascent Propulsion System (MAPS) Technology Program: Plans and Progress
The return of rock and soil samples from the surface of Mars in the next decade is a focal point of the NASA Mars Exploration Program.
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Results for “technologies Mars Ascent Propulsion System (MAPS)”
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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Advanced Storable Propulsion Technologies for Low-Cost Mars Sample Return
The propulsion requirements for ascent from the surface of Mars as part of a Mars sample return mission exceed the capabilities of current state-of-the-art chemical propulsion systems.
low-cost ascent surface Mars sample return mission↗
International Space Exploration Coordination Group Assessment of Technology Gaps for LOx/Methane Propulsion Systems for the Global Exploration Roadmap
As part of the Global Exploration Roadmap (GER), the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) formed two technology gap assessment teams to evaluate topic discipline areas that had not been worked at an international level to date. The participating agencies were ASI, CNES, DLR, ESA, JAXA, and NASA. Accordingly, the ISECG Technology Working Group (TWG) recommended two discipline areas based on Critical Technology Needs reflected within the GER Technology Development Map (GTDM): Dust Mitigation and LOX/Methane Propulsion. LOx/Methane propulsion systems are enabling for future human missions Mars by significantly reducing the landed mass of the Mars ascent stage through the use of in-situ propellant production, for improving common fluids for life support, power and propulion thus allowing for diverse redundancy, for eliminating the corrosive and toxic propellants thereby improving surface operations and resusabilty, and for inceasing the performance of propulsion systems. The goals and objectives of the international team are to determine the gaps in technology that must be closed for LOx/Methane to be used in human exploration missions in cis-lunar, lunar, and Mars mission applications. An emphasis is placed on near term lunar lander applications with extensibility to Mars. Each agency provided a status of the substantial amount of Lox/Methane propulsion system development to date and their inputs on the gaps in the technology that are remaining. The gaps, which are now opportunities for collaboration, are then discussed.
Hurlbert, Eric A.↗