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NASA NTRS2024

Development of Cryogenic Phase Change Materials for Lunar Sample Return

One of the scientific goals of NASA’s Artemis missions is to return regolith samples from the lunar surface. To maintain scientific integrity of these samples, including any volatiles that may exist, cryogenic stowage is desired. FROSTE (Frozen Return Of Samples To Earth) is the element of the Moon to Mars architecture that is tasked with developing and advancing concepts related to this goal. Both active and passive solutions are being considered, but active solutions (cryo-coolers) have high mass and cost penalties. Phase change materials (PCMs) are commonly used as passive thermal management solutions, particularly for sensitive scientific samples. However, there are currently no PCMs capable of providing cooling at the cryogenic temperatures needed to enable lunar sample return with volatiles intact (<120 K). FROSTE has identified two possible candidate materials that could fill this gap. Testing is required to verify the thermal performance of these materials, as well as gain experience with their handling characteristics. We are conducting this testing at the Marshall Space Flight Center’s Space Environmental Effects laboratory, in vacuum, with liquid nitrogen providing cooling ability below the freezing point of the materials. In this talk, we will present an overview of the FROSTE program element and share results from the initial development testing of two cryogenic phase change materials.

phase change material↗
NASA NTRS2011

Combined Structural and Trajectory Control of Variable-Geometry Planetary Entry Systems

Some of the key challenges of planetary entry are to dissipate the large kinetic energy of the entry vehicle and to land with precision. Past missions to Mars were based on unguided entry, where entry vehicles carried payloads of less than 0.6 T and landed within 100 km of the designated target. The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is expected to carry a mass of almost 1 T to within 20 km of the target site. Guided lifting entry is needed to meet these higher deceleration and targeting demands. If the aerodynamic characteristics of the decelerator are variable during flight, more trajectory options are possible, and can be tailored to specific mission requirements. In addition to the entry trajectory modulation, having variable aerodynamic properties will also favor maneuvering of the vehicle prior to descent. For proper supersonic parachute deployment, the vehicle needs to turn to a lower angle of attack. One approach to entry trajectory improvement and angle of attack control is to embed a variable geometry decelerator in the design of the vehicle. Variation in geometry enables the vehicle to adjust its aerodynamic performance continuously without additional fuel cost because only electric power is needed for actuating the mechanisms that control the shape change. Novel structural and control concepts have been developed that enable the decelerator to undergo variation in geometry. Changing the aerodynamic characteristics of a flight vehicle by active means can potentially provide a mechanically simple, affordable, and enabling solution for entry, descent, and landing across a wide range of mission types, sample capture and return, and reentry to Earth, Titan, Venus, or Mars. Unguided ballistic entry is not sufficient to meet this more stringent deceleration, heating, and targeting demands. Two structural concepts for implementing the cone angle variation, a segmented shell, and a corrugated shell, have been presented.

Quadrelli, Marco B.↗
NASA NTRS2002

WOBBLE: A Proposed Mission to Characterize Past and Present Water on Mars

WOBBLE ("Water Observations from a Balloon Borne Light Explorer") is a mission concept study for a small robotic probe to explore Mars and to accomplish a scientific mission compatible with the goals of the NASA Code S enterprise. The detection of past or present water is a crucial goal for Mars exploration, representing a cross-cutting science theme relevant to past or extant life, climate history, sample return missions and eventual human exploration. The WOBBLE mission concept was developed to study evidence of water using in-situ detection methods. The features on Mars most suited to this investigation are the gullies identified by Malin and Edgett as evidence for recent, near-surface runoff of liquid water. These features are typically located on the inside face of crater rims, where the local slope angle is at or near the angle of repose. This makes the terrain difficult or impossible to access with conventional wheeled rover technology. Combined with the small size of the gullies in relation to a standard landing error ellipse, scientific investigation of these features requires a new approach to surface mobility. WOBBLE uses a low-altitude balloon-borne platform to traverse the surface from the landing site, to the investigation site, and then rise up the slope to investigate the regions of interest at close range. Of the mobility technologies available for near-term Mars exploration, only a balloon platform is capable of a well targeted, detailed sampling of the gully regions over periods of days or more. The science approach embodied in WOBBLE is two-pronged, designed to investigate both the historical evidence of liquid water utilizing high-resolution geomorphology and the characterization of mineral deposits, and present subsurface liquid water using radar sounding techniques. The WOBBLE balloon is a high-pressure hydrogen gas design, 24 meters in diameter and lifting a total payload of 130 kg, including a high-resolution camera/IR imager, Raman spectrometer, and a ground penetrating radar (GPR) sounder. The stowed balloon and payload are designed to fit within the current airbag delivery system being built for the Mars Exploration Rovers. Characterization of local meteorological conditions and wind is made over the initial sols following landing and before balloon inflation. Following balloon inflation and launch, a controlled, targeted approach toward the identified regions of interest is made in a series of several low-altitude "hops," with the balloon tethered to the ground between the hop intervals. A "snake" system is used to control the altitude to a few tens of meters above the local ground level. Enroute to the target gully, GPR soundings and Raman spectroscopy measurements study past or present water, while continued camera bearings and meteorological measurements refine the next "hop" trajectory. Once at the gully/outflow region, GPR and Raman soundings continue while the camera obtains detailed, approx. 0.5 cm images for geomorphology studies. The WOBBLE concept is applicable to Mars Scout, Mars Surveyor, or Discovery class missions.

Udrea, Bogdan↗
NASA NTRS2005

Planetary Protection Technologies: Technical Challenges for Mars Exploration

The search for life in the solar system, using either in situ analysis or sample return, brings with it special technical challenges in the area of planetary protection. Planetary protection (PP) requires planetary explorers to preserve biological and organic conditions for future exploration and to protect the Earth from potential extraterrestrial contamination that could occur as a result of sample return to the Earth-Moon system. In view of the exploration plans before us, the NASA Solar System Exploration Program Roadmap published in May 2003 identified planetary protection as one of 13 technologies for "high priority technology investments." Recent discoveries at Mars and Jupiter, coupled with new policies, have made this planning for planetary protection technology particularly challenging and relevant.New missions to Mars have been formulated, which present significantly greater forward contamination potential. New policies, including the introduction by COSPAR of a Category IVc for planetary protection, have been adopted by COSPAR in response. Some missions may not be feasible without the introduction of new planetary protection technologies. Other missions may be technically possible but planetary protection requirements may be so costly to implement with current technology that they are not affordable. A strategic investment strategy will be needed to focus on technology investments designed to enable future missions and reduce the costs of future missions. This presentation will describe some of the potential technological pathways that may be most protective.

planetary protections↗
NASA NTRS2001

Uncertainty Optimization Applied to the Monte Carlo Analysis of Planetary Entry Trajectories

Recently, strong evidence of liquid water under the surface of Mars and a meteorite that might contain ancient microbes have renewed interest in Mars exploration. With this renewed interest, NASA plans to send spacecraft to Mars approx. every 26 months. These future spacecraft will return higher-resolution images, make precision landings, engage in longer-ranging surface maneuvers, and even return Martian soil and rock samples to Earth. Future robotic missions and any human missions to Mars will require precise entries to ensure safe landings near science objective and pre-employed assets. Potential sources of water and other interesting geographic features are often located near hazards, such as within craters or along canyon walls. In order for more accurate landings to be made, spacecraft entering the Martian atmosphere need to use lift to actively control the entry. This active guidance results in much smaller landing footprints. Planning for these missions will depend heavily on Monte Carlo analysis. Monte Carlo trajectory simulations have been used with a high degree of success in recent planetary exploration missions. These analyses ascertain the impact of off-nominal conditions during a flight and account for uncertainty. Uncertainties generally stem from limitations in manufacturing tolerances, measurement capabilities, analysis accuracies, and environmental unknowns. Thousands of off-nominal trajectories are simulated by randomly dispersing uncertainty variables and collecting statistics on forecast variables. The dependability of Monte Carlo forecasts, however, is limited by the accuracy and completeness of the assumed uncertainties. This is because Monte Carlo analysis is a forward driven problem; beginning with the input uncertainties and proceeding to the forecasts outputs. It lacks a mechanism to affect or alter the uncertainties based on the forecast results. If the results are unacceptable, the current practice is to use an iterative, trial-and-error approach to reconcile discrepancies. Therefore, an improvement to the Monte Carlo analysis is needed that will allow the problem to be worked in reverse. In this way, the largest allowable dispersions that achieve the required mission objectives can be determined quantitatively.

Olds, John↗
NASA NTRS2000

Measuring Geologic Time on Mars

Recent images from Mars show compelling evidence of near-surface flowing water, aeolian activity slope processes, and ice cap evolution that underscores the dynamic geologic history of the planet. Establishing an accurate chronology for Martian planetary features is critical for addressing fundamental questions about the evolution of the planet's surface and atmosphere and the differentiation of its interior. For example, how long was standing water on the surface? If life did evolve on Mars, did it occur before or after the evolution of life on Earth? These are arguably some of the most profound questions currently being asked by the planetary science community. Yet answers will not be forthcoming without an absolute chronology of Mars history, enabling the construction of a timescale comparable to Earth's. Discussion of methods for establishing such a chronology is particularly timely in light of new missions to Mars that are being planned to return in situ measurements or samples to Earth.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2014

A Simple Analytic Model for Estimating Mars Ascent Vehicle Mass and Performance

The Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) is a crucial component in any sample return campaign. In this paper we present a universal model for a two-stage MAV along with the analytic equations and simple parametric relationships necessary to quickly estimate MAV mass and performance. Ascent trajectories can be modeled as two-burn transfers from the surface with appropriate loss estimations for finite burns, steering, and drag. Minimizing lift-off mass is achieved by balancing optimized staging and an optimized path-to-orbit. This model allows designers to quickly find optimized solutions and to see the effects of design choices.

Woolley, Ryan C.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Development of Advanced Conformal and Soft Pica for Future Nasa Missions and Commercial Space

Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA) is a low-density ablator that has been used as the planetary entry heatshield for several NASA missions since the late 90’s. Its low density and efficient performance characteristics have proven effective for use from Discovery to Flag-ship class missions, from Sample Return missions such as Stardust, OSIRIS-REx to large Mars Lander missions such as MSL and Mars 2020. Continued development of a more mass efficient and compliant versions of PICA that use a carbon felt as the substrate will be presented. The felt based versions of PICA known as Conformal PICA (C-PICA) and Soft PICA (S-PICA), are very comparable in terms of peak heat-flux capabilities compared to standard PICA. The lower density and of C-PICA and S-PICA further show a much higher thermal protection efficiency and hence more mass savings. The compliant nature of these materials allows for use on a wide variety of substrates and therefore makes it very attractive for commercial low earth orbit missions as well as NASA’s aerocapture missions to Ice Giants. NASA is currently working with several commercial partners (Varda and Inversion Space) to Technology Transfer C/S-PICA variants for commercial LEO missions. Thermal, mechanical, and representative environment arc-jet tests have been conducted comparing the performance of Conformal and Soft-PICA materials.

Matthew J Gasch↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Development of Advanced Ablative Carbon Phenolic TPS for Future NASA Missions and Commercial Space

Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA) is a low-density carbon phenolic ablator that has been used as the planetary entry heatshield for several NASA missions since the late 90’s. Its low density and efficient performance characteristics have proven effective for use from Discovery to Flagship class missions, from Sample Return missions such as Stardust, OSIRIS-REx to large Mars lander missions such as MSL and Mars 2020. Continued development of a mass efficient, compliant version of PICA that use a carbon felt as the substrate will be presented. The felt based versions of PICA known as Conformal PICA (C-PICA) is comparable in terms of peak heat-flux capabilities compared to standard PICA. Additionally, a novel all felt PICA-Flex offers further reductions in density, with higher thermal protection efficiency resulting in additional mass savings beyond C-PICA. Furthermore, the compliant nature of these materials allows for application without Strain Isolation Pad to a wide variety of substrates, making attractive for commercial low earth orbit missions as well as NASA’s aerocapture missions to Ice Giants. NASA is currently working with several commercial partners (Varda and Inversion Space) to Technology Transfer C/S-PICA variants for commercial LEO missions. Preliminary thermal and mechanical tests have been conducted comparing the performance of Conformal and Soft-PICA and PICA-Flex materials.

Flexible Ablative TPS↗
NASA NTRS2002

Workshop on Spectroscopy of the Martian Surface: What Next?

Members of the Mars infrared spectral community desired to assess what spectral instrument will best serve the Mars program and spectral community after the successful flight of currently planned instruments. It was felt this issue needed to be addressed, given the shift of the NASA Mars program toward a search for regions conductive to the preservation of biomarkers, and the desire for sample return. To this end, leaders of the planetary community with expertise in spectroscopy and remote mineral identification met to discuss the state of understanding of Mars surface composition, and to assess what critical gaps may exist: 1) after the successful completion of planned measurements of Mars; and 2) in research programs to support investigations of the current and planned data sets. Participants also discussed the proposed Mars airplane. This report summarizes our consensus.

Kirkland, L.↗
NASA NTRS2011

LIFE: Enceladus Sample Return Mission Concept for Searching Evidence of Life

One of the most promising targets for the search for life other than Mars in our Solar System is the tiny Saturn moon Enceladus. The Cassini mission to the Saturian system detected an active region on Enceladus where small water particles and gas containing organic materials were being flung into space from a region near the south pole known as the tiger stripes. This discovery indicated that there is very likely a liquid subsurface ocean heated through tidal interactions as Enceladus orbits Saturn. On Earth, whenever there is an energy source, liquid water and organics, there is life; this makes Enceladus one of the prime candidates for a search for life missions. In this presentation, we describe LIFE (Life Investigation For Enceladus) sample return concept from Enceladus in the search for evidence of life.

Enceladus↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Mars 2020 Watson Imaging Subsystem of the Sherloc Investigation and Anticpated Early Results

In February 2021, the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover is anticipated to touch down in Jezero crater, Mars. Perseverance is unique in that it will conduct in situ science as well as cache samples for eventual return to Earth for analysis in terrestrial laboratories. It will explore the geologic setting within Jezero over a range of scales in order to address fundamental questions about the evolution of Mars and assess whether there is evidence of past or present Martian life. The Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering (WATSON), one of two imaging subsystems within the Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) instrument[1,2], acquires images that support scientific study of Jezero crater and sample acquisition, as well as rover and instrument operations(Fig. 1).WATSON serves a number of roles; it 1) provides color context imaging of SHERLOC and Planetary Instrument for X-Ray Litho chemistry (PIXL)analysis locations, placing the spatial distribution of organics and mineralogy detected by SHERLOC and the elemental maps generated by PIXL within the context of rock texture and structure; 2)acquires stand-alone observations of rock structures and textures from the outcrop to the grain scale; and 3)images rover components and other instruments to monitor their health and condition. We plan to present images acquired within the first ~30 sols of operations.

M E Minitti↗
NASA NTRS2005

Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVI, Part 6

Contents include the following: A Model for Multiple Populations of Presolar Diamonds. Characterization of Martian North Polar Geologic Units Using Mars Odyssey THEMIS Data. Effect of Flow on the Internal Structure of the Martian North Polar Layered Deposits. Elemental Abundance Distributions in Basalt Clays and Meteorites: Is It a Biosignature? Early Results on the Saturn System from the Composite Infrared Spectrometer. NanoSIMS D/H Imaging of Isotopically Primitive Interplanetary Dust Particles. Presolar (Circumstellar and Interstellar) Phases in Renazzo: The Effects of Parent Body Processing. Catastrophic Disruption of Hydrated Targets: Implications for the Hydrated Asteroids and for the Production of Interplanetary Dust Particles. Chemical and Mineralogical Analyses of Particles from the Stratospheric Collections Coinciding with the 2002 Leonid Storm and the 2003 Comet Grigg-Skjellerup Trail Passage. An Analysis of the Solvus in the CaS-MnS System. ESA s SMART-1 Mission at the Moon: First Results, Status and Next Steps. Europa Analog Ice-splitting Measurements and Experiments with Ice-Hunveyor on the Frozen Balaton-Lake, Hungary. Chromium on Eros: Further Evidence of Ordinary Chondrite Composition. Dust Devil Tracks on Mars: Observation and Analysis from Orbit and the Surface. Spatial Variation of Methane and Other Trace Gases Detected on Mars: Interpretation with a General Circulation Model. Mars Water Ice and Carbon Dioxide Seasonal Polar Caps: GCM Modeling and Comparison with Mars Express Omega Observations. Component Separation of OMEGA Spectra with ICA. Clathrate Formation in the Near-Surface Environment of Titan. Space Weathering: A Proposed Laboratory Approach to Explaining the Sulfur Depletion on Eros. Sample Collection from Small Airless Bodies: Examination of Temperature Constraints for the TGIP. Sample Collector for the Hera Near-Earth Asteroid Sample Return Mission. A Rugged Miniature Mass-Spectrometer for Measuring Aqueous Geochemistry on Mars. Martian and Lunar Pyroxene Microstructures Studied by Single-Crystal X-Ray Diffraction.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2016

Mars 2020 Coring Drill: Prototype Testing and Analysis

The Mars 2020 rover will carry a new subsystem to collect and prepare Martian rocks and regolith (loose, unconsolidated) samples. This includes a rotary percussive coring drill and a set of sample tubes. About 30 of these sample tubes will be deposited at select locations for return on a potential future sample-retrieval mission. In laboratories on Earth, specimens from Mars could be analyzed for evidence of past life on Mars and possible health hazards for future human missions. Hardware and control algorithms for the coring drill are based heavily on testing. Results from testing of prototype hardware are used to refine the design

Kreichbaum, Kristopher↗
NASA NTRS2000

Mechanical Abrasion as a Low Cost Technique for Contamination-Free Sample Acquisition from a Category IVA Clean Platform

The proposed Mars Sample Transfer Chain Architecture provides Planetary Protection Officers with clean samples that are required for the eventual release from confinement of the returned Martian samples. At the same time, absolute cleanliness and sterility requirement is not placed of any part of the Lander (including the deep drill), Mars Assent Vehicle (MAV), any part of the Orbiting Sample container (OS), Rover mobility platform, any part of the Minicorer, Robotic arm (including instrument sensors), and most of the caching equipment on the Rover. The removal of the strict requirements in excess of the Category IVa cleanliness (Pathfinder clean) is expected to lead to significant cost savings. The proposed architecture assumes that crosscontamination renders all surfaces in the vicinity of the rover(s) and the lander(s) contaminated. Thus, no accessible surface of Martian rocks and soil is Earth contamination free. As a result of the latter, only subsurface samples (either rock or soil) can be and will be collected for eventual return to Earth. Uncontaminated samples can be collected from a Category IVa clean platform. Both subsurface soil and rock samples can be maintained clean if they are collected by devices that are self-contained and clean and sterile inside only. The top layer of the sample is removed in a manner that does not contaminate the collection tools. Biobarrier (e.g., aluminum foil) covering the moving parts of these devices may be used as the only self removing bio-blanket that is required. The samples never leave the collection tools. The lids are placed on these tools inside the collection device. These single use tools with the lid and the sample inside are brought to Earth in the OS. The lids have to be designed impenetrable to the Earth organisms. The latter is a well established art.

Dolgin, B.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Optimum rocket propulsion for energy-limited transfer

In order to effect large-scale return of extraterrestrial resources to Earth orbit, it is desirable to optimize the propulsion system to maximize the mass of payload returned per unit energy expended. This optimization problem is different from the conventional rocket propulsion optimization. A rocket propulsion system consists of an energy source plus reaction mass. In a conventional chemical rocket, the energy source and the reaction mass are the same. For the transportation system required, however, the best system performance is achieved if the reaction mass used is from a locally available source. In general, the energy source and the reaction mass will be separate. One such rocket system is the nuclear thermal rocket, in which the energy source is a reactor and the reaction mass a fluid which is heated by the reactor and exhausted. Another energy-limited rocket system is the hydrogen/oxygen rocket where H2/O2 fuel is produced by electrolysis of water using a solar array or a nuclear reactor. The problem is to choose the optimum specific impulse (or equivalently exhaust velocity) to minimize the amount of energy required to produce a given mission delta-v in the payload. The somewhat surprising result is that the optimum specific impulse is not the maximum possible value, but is proportional to the mission delta-v. In general terms, at the beginning of the mission it is optimum to use a very low specific impulse and expend a lot of reaction mass, since this is the most energy efficient way to transfer momentum. However, as the mission progresses, it becomes important to minimize the amount of reaction mass expelled, since energy is wasted moving the reaction mass. Thus, the optimum specific impulse will increase with the mission delta-v. Optimum I(sub sp) is derived for maximum payload return per energy expended for both the case of fixed and variable I(sub sp) engines. Sample missions analyzed include return of water payloads from the moons of Mars and of Saturn.

Zuppero, Anthony↗
NASA NTRS2009

Validation of PICA Ablation and Thermal-Response Model at Low Heat Flux

Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA) was the forebody heatshield material on the Stardust sample-return capsule and is also a primary candidate material for the Mars Science Lander (MSL), the Orion Crew Module, and the SpaceX Dragon vehicle. As part of the heatshield qualification for Orion, physical and thermal properties of virgin and charred PICA were measured, and an ablation and thermal response model was developed. We validated the model by comparing it with recession and temperature data from stagnation arcjet tests conducted over a wide range of stagnation heat flux of 107 to 1102 W/sq cm. The effect of orthotropic thermal conductivity was evident in the thermal response of the arcjet models. In general, model predictions compared well with the data; however, the uncertainty of the recession prediction was greatest for heat fluxes below 200 W/sq cm. More recent MSL testing focused on the low heat flux regime of 45 to 250 W/sq cm. The new results confirm the recession uncertainty, especially for pressures below 6 kPa. In this work we focus on improving the model predictions for MSL and Orion tests below 250 W/sq cm.

Milos, Frank S.↗