Soft and Precision Landing – Test Approaches and Infrastructure for Upcoming Missions

Paper number

IAC-09.A3.1.5

Author

Mr. Lars Witte, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Germany

Coauthor

Dr. Lutz Richter, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Germany

Coauthor

Dr. Peter Kyr, EADS Astrium Space Transportation GmbH, Germany

Coauthor

Mr. Robert Buchwald, EADS SPACE Transportation, Germany

Coauthor

Mr. Hans Krüger, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Germany

Coauthor

Mr. Thomas Diedrich, EADS Astrium Space Transportation GmbH, Germany

Coauthor

Mr. Uwe Soppa, EADS Astrium Space Transportation GmbH, Germany

Coauthor

Mr. Silvio Schroeder, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Germany

Year

2009

Abstract

The topic soft and precision landing remains a strategic issue for upcoming planetary exploration missions both in the European theater and the international framework. Driving requirements stem from the need of more flexibility in landing site selection, improved payload to mass ratios and higher mission success probabilities. Key technologies necessary to enable these tasks are suitable GNC concepts with respect to navigation and hazard avoidance and (legged lander) touchdown systems to control the touchdown dynamics.
In order to support the design, development and verification of such lander vehicles on an experimental basis a joint DLR/EADS Astrium ST team has defined the required test and verification scheme and derived the requirements for related test facilities and infrastructure. Today unprecedented in Europe, these efforts have to be seen in the context of recent lander studies such as Moon Next or Marco Polo.
Core elements of these facilities are the Landing and Mobility Test Facility for touchdown dynamic test (either scaled model drop tests or actively weight offloaded tests) and the Optical Navigation Landing Simulator for camera in the loop tests. Both facilities are hosted and operated by the DLR Institute of Space Systems in Bremen/Germany. Test assemblies which exceed the limits at the Bremen site in terms of size and/or risk potential are forseen for the DLR site at Trauen/Germany. This includes the set-up for a pendulum, where a test object swings against a tilted plane allowing touchdown dynamics tests of large unscaled objects and for demonstration of the navigation chain by a captive or free flight of demonstrator objects.
This paper reviews the functional principles, opportunities and limitation of these test approaches. It presents a test and verification scheme for legged lander systems in these key areas and the synthesis of requirements for the associated facilities and set-ups and its infrastructure. The paper concluded with an update on the current status of the test facilities and an outlook to future growth.

Abstract document

IAC-09.A3.1.5.pdf

Manuscript document

(absent)