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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.↗

NASA NTRS2020

EDL Simulation Results for the Mars 2020 Landing Site Safety Assessment

The Mars 2020 rover is NASA’s next flagship mission, set to explore Mars in search of scientific evidence of past microbial life. Importantly, the rover will also, for the first time, have the ability to collect and cache rock and soil samples for retrieval and return to laboratories here on Earth. A key step in the development of the Mars 2020 mission is the selection of a suitable landing site with the largest likelihood of meeting scientific goals. This decision is a complex and critical one that requires close interaction between the scientific and engineering communities. The chosen landing site must be both scientifically interesting — providing the project with the greatest possible chance of gathering credible and defendable scientific evidence — and also safe enough to attempt a landing in the first place. Thus, arguably one of the most important undertakings of the Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) team, is to effectively enumerate, quantify, and communicate the landing risks to all of the stakeholders. The culmination of this effort is the Landing Site Safety Assessment, which is a review commissioned by the project, presided over by the EDL Standing Review Board, and attended by management and science stakeholders, in which the EDL team communicates their assessment of the associated landing risks and the statistical probability of a successful landing at each of the final candidate landing sites. This paper summarizes the results of high-fidelity computer simulations of the Mars 2020 EDL sequence used in this assessment. From an EDL performance perspective, all four candidates offer similar level of robustness, which is in-family with Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). However, two new features of the Mars 2020 EDL sequence – range trigger and Terrain-Relative Navigation (TRN) – dramatically enhance the capability of the EDL system to safely land at landing sites with much more rugged terrain than ever before considered. This has allowed the landing site selection for Mars 2020 to proceed in a manner that has been unprecedentedly weighted more heavily toward scientific interest and less heavily on engineering constraints. With TRN, the overall probability of success is predicted to be approximately 99% for all of the candidates.

David Way↗

NASA NTRS2018

Modelling and Laboratory Testing of Particle Resuspension and Transport for the Assessment of Terrestrial-Borne Biological Contamination of the Samples on the Mars 2020 Mission

The Mars 2020 mission will land a rover on the surface of Mars that will acquire, encapsulate, and cache scientifically selected samples of martian material for possible return to Earth by a future mission. The samples will be individually encapsulated and sealed in sample tubes. Each sample, and therefore each sample tube, must be kept clean of viable organisms with a terrestrial origin, which may adhere to the rover on their own and/or on other non-biological particles. Therefore, contrary to previous missions to the Red Planet, Mars 2020 is subject to new and more stringent biological, organic and inorganic contamination requirements. This paper reports on the analyses and testing performed to assess the various vectors that can lead to the terrestrial-borne contamination of the samples, focusing on those that are predicted to be the larger contributors. Specifically, the contamination of the sample tubes is expected to be very small prior to the commencement of the mission’s science phase since these tubes are protected by so-called Fluid Mechanical Particle Barriers. Once on the surface of Mars however the sample tubes will be removed from their FMPBs and be subject to contamination from the rover. Of specific interest is the vector by which winds dislodge some particles from the surface of the rover and transport them to the surrounding soil. Naturally, such assessments require multi-disciplinary analyses involving at minimum the physics of particle adhesion and resuspension from surfaces, fluid mechanics and aerosols. Here we provide an overview of these models. We also report on particle resuspension experiments we have performed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to both guide and validate the aforementioned physics models.

Steltzner, Adam↗

NASA NTRS1999

The Next Decade of Mars Exploration

Following a 20-year hiatus in missions to Mars, the planet has again become a focus of planetary research for space-faring nations. NASA and space agencies worldwide are returning to Mars with scientific research and public engagement sharing top priority. Collectively, the work to be performed within a decade will address much of the research associated with planetary evolution, past and present climates, and astrobiology. NASA's science goals are centered on the study of potential habitats - past and present environments that may have been suitable for the origin of life. These goals are approached through in situ measurements and through sample return. CNES has teamed with NASA to return samples, while also extending the research base by adding geophysical measurements via a network of landers. ASI has joined NASA and CNES by providing a drill to access the near sub-surface. ESA will fly an orbiter and, potentially, a lander to Mars with the goal of addressing mineralogy, geochemistry, geology, and biology. ISAS will study the planet's aeronomy using an orbiter. Many other nations are contributors to these programs of exploration. The desire for national participation, presence on the Martian surface and, most importantly, samples to analyze motivate all nations involved. So important is public engagement that NASA and CNES will launch a network of communication satellites to improve public participation and enhance scientific data return. Further, NASA is currently preparing a Mars airplane that will undoubtedly engage the public's imagination. Additional research investigations will be sought; particularly those able to utilize small spacecraft on and above the surface. A recently announced NASA/CNES series of MicroMissions offers a means of pursuing discoveries, scouting potential landing sites for sample return, and further broadening the scope of scientific research. The timing for these opportunities will be presented.

McCleese, D. J.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Ceres Planetary Mission Concept Study: Exploration of Ceres' Habitability

Dwarf planet Ceres is a compelling target as an evolved ocean world with recent and potentially ongoing geological activity. As the most water-rich body in the inner solar system after Earth (in absolute abundance), it is a representative of the population of planetesimals that brought volatiles and organics to the inner solar system. And, situated in the Main Belt of Asteroids, it is accessible enough to return a sample from within the resources of a typical medium-class (New Frontiers) NASA mission. Habitability is addressed via a combination of geological, geophysical, and compositional investigations. Past and ongoing activity is addressed via high-resolution imaging and gravity measurements from orbit near landforms interpreted as volcanic structures based on the Dawn observations. The depth of deep brines would be probed via electromagnetic sounding. Sample return would enable a vast range of experimental techniques to be applied with sensitivities and accuracies beyond those feasible with in situ instruments and would benefit from future facilities developments. Sample return could be executed with a single flight system with solar electric propulsion. The baseline design of the sample return capsule is inherited from the OSIRIS-REx mission. This concept also relies on the availability of key technologies: an enhanced landing vision system leveraging investments for Mars 2020; retractable/redeployable solar arrays, which have been demonstrated on the International Space Station but not at Ceres’ gravity; and a new design for sample transfer from the pneumatic sampling system to the sample return capsule based off Honeybee Robotics’ design for the MMX mission. The authors acknowledge support from NASA’s Planetary Mission Concept Study program. The information in this abstract is pre-decisional and is provided for planning and discussion purposes only.

K. E. Miller↗

NASA NTRS1999

Autonomous Rock Tracking and Acquisition from a Mars Rover

Future Mars exploration missions will perform two types of experiments: science instrument placement for close-up measurement, and sample acquisition for return to Earth. In this paper we describe algorithms we developed for these tasks, and demonstrate them in field experiments using a self-contained Mars Rover prototype, the Rocky 7 rover. Our algorithms perform visual servoing on an elevation map instead of image features, because the latter are subject to abrupt scale changes during the approach. 'This allows us to compensate for the poor odometry that results from motion on loose terrain. We demonstrate the successful grasp of a 5 cm long rock over 1m away using 103-degree field-of-view stereo cameras, and placement of a flexible mast on a rock outcropping over 5m away using 43 degree FOV stereo cameras.

Maimone, Mark W.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Nasa’S Development of Merino - A New Family of Advanced, Low-Cost, Non-Woven Ablative Tps Materials

The Mars Exploration Program (MEP) and NASAs Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) are investing in approaches to reduce the cost and increase the frequency of future Mars missions while also seeking to help emerging commercial space companies which have an immediate need to demonstrate their capability to return samples from space - at a fraction of the cost of a conventional NASA mission. Of particular interest and relevance to commercial space and low-cost Mars, is the work developing and advancing MERINO-LD, an ablative carbon/phenolic blanket that is ~75% faster to produce with an estimated ~75% reduction in cost when compared to rigid PICA or Conformal-PICA TPS.

Matthew Gasch↗

NASA NTRS2015

Low-Latency Teleoperations for Human Exploration and Evolvable Mars Campaign

NASA has been analyzing a number of mission concepts and activities that involve low-latency telerobotic (LLT) operations. One mission concept that will be covered in this presentation is Crew-Assisted Sample Return which involves the crew acquiring samples (1) that have already been delivered to space, and or acquiring samples via LLT from orbit to a planetary surface and then launching the samples to space to be captured in space and then returned to the earth with the crew. Both versions of have key roles for low-latency teleoperations. More broadly, the NASA Evolvable Mars Campaign is exploring a number of other activities that involve LLT, such as: (a) human asteroid missions, (b) PhobosDeimos missions, (c) Mars human landing site reconnaissance and site preparation, and (d) Mars sample handling and analysis. Many of these activities could be conducted from Mars orbit and also with the crew on the Mars surface remotely operating assets elsewhere on the surface, e.g. for exploring Mars special regions and or teleoperating a sample analysis laboratory both of which may help address planetary protection concerns. The operational and technology implications of low-latency teleoperations will be explored, including discussion of relevant items in the NASA Technology Roadmap and also how previously deployed robotic assets from any source could subsequently be used by astronauts via LLT.

crew autonomy↗

NASA NTRS2000

Mars Network: Strategies for Deploying Enabling Telecommunications Capabilities in Support of Mars Exploration

The coming decade of Mars exploration will involve a diverse set of robotic science missions, including in situ and sample return investigations, and ultimately moving towards sustained robotic presence on the Martian surface. In supporting this mission set, NASA must establish a robust telecommunications architecture that meets the specific science needs of near-term missions while enabling new methods of future exploration. This paper will assess the anticipated telecommunications needs of future Mars exploration, examine specific options for deploying capabilities, and quantify the performance of these options in terms of key figures of merit.

Edwards, C. D.↗

DOE OSTI2021

Origin of Life on Mars: Suitability and Opportunities

Although the habitability of early Mars is now well established, its suitability for conditions favorable to an independent origin of life (OoL) has been less certain. With continued exploration, evidence has mounted for a widespread diversity of physical and chemical conditions on Mars that mimic those variously hypothesized as settings in which life first arose on Earth. Mars has also provided water, energy sources, CHNOPS elements, critical catalytic transition metal elements, as well as B, Mg, Ca, Na and K, all of which are elements associated with life as we know it. With its highly favorable sulfur abundance and land/ocean ratio, early wet Mars remains a prime candidate for its own OoL, in many respects superior to Earth. The relatively well-preserved ancient surface of planet Mars helps inform the range of possible analogous conditions during the now-obliterated history of early Earth. Continued exploration of Mars also contributes to the understanding of the opportunities for settings enabling an OoL on exoplanets. Favoring geochemical sediment samples for eventual return to Earth will enhance assessments of the likelihood of a Martian OoL.

transition elements↗

DOE OSTI2020

Mars Extant Life: What's Next? Conference Report

On November 5–8, 2019, the ‘‘Mars Extant Life: What’s Next?’’ conference was convened in Carlsbad, New Mexico. The conference gathered a community of actively publishing experts in disciplines related to habitability and astrobiology. Primary conclusions are as follows: A significant subset of conference attendees concluded that there is a realistic possibility that Mars hosts indigenous microbial life. A powerful theme that permeated the conference is that the key to the search for martian extant life lies in identifying and exploring refugia (‘‘oases’’), where conditions are either permanently or episodically significantly more hospitable than average. Based on our existing knowledge of Mars, conference participants highlighted four potential martian refugium (not listed in priority order): Caves, Deep Subsurface, Ices, and Salts. The conference group did not attempt to reach a consensus prioritization of these candidate environments, but instead felt that a defensible prioritization would require a future competitive process. Within the context of these candidate environments, we identified a variety of geological search strategies that could narrow the search space. Additionally, we summarized a number of measurement techniques that could be used to detect evidence of extant life (if present). Again, it was not within the scope of the conference to prioritize these measurement techniques—that is best left for the competitive process. We specifically note that the number and sensitivity of detection methods that could be implemented if samples were returned to Earth greatly exceed the methodologies that could be used at Mars. Finally, important lessons to guide extant life search processes can be derived both from experiments carried out in terrestrial laboratories and analog field sites and from theoretical modeling.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

NASA NTRS1974

Planetary entry aerothermodynamics. I - Technology requirements and experimental facilities

Consideration has been given to the entry of vehicles into the atmospheres of all planets with the exception of Pluto and to missions for returning samples to Earth from all the planets (excepting Pluto), the satellites of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, the Moon, the asteroids, and certain comets. The efficient planning of the space missions including the appropriate design of the spacecraft requires that operational and environmental parameter values for the large range of mission options included be adequately known. The need to obtain the data required as a basis for the computational studies involved makes it necessary to conduct a comprehensive experimental research program. Details concerning the experimental facilities employed in this program are discussed, giving attention to shock tubes, the planetary-entry radiation facility, ballistic ranges, an expansion tube, a hypersonic tetrafluoromethane tunnel, and arcjet facilities.

Olstad, W. B.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Performance of advanced missions using fusion propulsion

A quantitive evaluation of the premise that nuclear fusion propulsion offers benefits as compared to other propulsion technologies for carrying out a program of advanced exploration of the solar system and beyond is presented. Using a simplified analytical model of trajectory performance, numerical results of mass requirements versus trip time are given for robotic missions beyond the solar system that include flyby and rendezvous with the Oort cloud of comets and with the star system Alpha Centauri. Round trip missions within the solar system, including robotic sample returns from the outer planet moons and multiple asteroid targets, and manned Mars exploration are also described.

Friedlander, Alan↗

NASA NTRS1990

Robotic missions to Mars - Paving the way for humans

NASA is in the planning stages of a program leading to the human exploration of Mars. A critical element in that program is a set of robotic missions that will acquire information on the Martian environment and test critical functions (such as aerobraking) at the planet. This paper presents some history of Mars missions, as well as results of recent studies of the Mars robotic missions that are under consideration as part of the exploration program. These missions include: (1) global synoptic geochemical and climatological characterization from orbit (Mars Observer), (2) global network of small meteorological and seismic stations, (3) sample returns, (4) reconnaissance orbiters and (5) rovers.

Pivirotto, D. S.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Concept Mapping as a Support for Mars Landing-Site Selection

The NASA Ames' Center for Mars Exploration (CMEX) serves to coordinate Mars programmatic research at ARC in the sciences, in information technology and in aero-assist and other technologies. Most recently, CMEX has been working with the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition at the University of West Florida to develop a new kind of web browser based on the application of concept maps. These Cmaps, which are demonstrably effective in science teaching, can be used to provide a new kind of information navigation tool that can make web or CD based information more meaningful and more easily navigable. CMEX expects that its 1999 CD-ROM will have this new user interface. CMEX is also engaged with the Mars Surveyor Project Office at JPL in developing an Internet-based source of materials to support the process of selecting landing sites for the next series of Mars landers. This activity -- identifying the most promising sites from which to return samples relevant to the search for evidence of life -- is one that is expected to engage the general public as well as the science community. To make the landing site data easily accessible and meaningful to the public, CMEX is planning to use the IHMC Cmap browser as its user interface.

Cabrol, Nathalie A.↗

NASA NTRS2000

Strategy for the Exploration of Mars

This abstract discusses a strategy for the scientific exploration of Mars by reviewing those that have been proposed previously by various science advisory groups. The strategy for exploration is based on first obtaining a global assessment or reconnaissance level of knowledge about Mars before more detailed study of specific locations with large rovers and sample returns. It also suggests a progression of missions and information needed for setting up outposts and ultimately eventual human exploration.

Golombek, M. P.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Thermal Operability Improvements for the Mars 2020 Rover Surface Mission

The Mars 2020 Rover is scheduled to land on Mars on February 18, 2021. One of the primary mission objectives for the Mars 2020 Rover is to perform in-situ science and collect a set of Martian regolith samples for possible future return to Earth. In order to meet mission requirements, 20 samples must be collected, assessed, and sealed during the prime mission (1.5 Martian years, approximately 1000 Sols). This requires that the Mars 2020 Rover operate in a much more efficient and autonomous manner than its predecessor, the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Rover, Curiosity. The thermal designs of both Curiosity and the Mars 2020 Rover utilize warmup heaters to bring the actuators and cameras, located on the outside of the vehicle, up to their operating temperatures prior to use. These heaters consume energy during the mission. The Rover energy balance, between energy production and consumption, must be maintained in order to keep the mission moving safely forward. Increased efficiency in the way this warmup heater energy is allocated and used in the Mars 2020 Rover operations plan will result in more energy available for science and engineering activities. This paper discusses the improvements that were made in both hardware and software to improve the way the Mars 2020 Rover will operate thermally on Mars.

Lee, Chern-Jiin↗