Reanalysis of Operators Reliability in Professional Skills under Simulated Space Flight Conditions
- Paper number
IAC-04-G.5.B.08
- Author
Dr. Vyacheslav Salnitskiy, Institute for Biomedical Problems, Russia
- Year
2004
- Abstract
In January 2004, the Vision for Space Exploration mandated NASA develop a sustained human presence on the moon, continuing onto Mars by 2030. Prior studies have defined the surface payloads required for the next phases of Mars exploration, with these architecture concepts and aggressive science objectives requiring landed masses an order of magnitude or greater than any Mars mission previously planned or flown. Additional studies have shown the requirements for missions more ambitious than the 2009 Mars Science Laboratory (approximately 900 kg payload mass) extend beyond the capabilities of Viking-heritage entry, descent, and landing (EDL) technologies, namely blunt-body aeroshells, supersonic and subsonic disk-gap-band parachutes, and TPS materials.
Mars surface missions present a unique set of challenges to EDL designers. The atmosphere is too thin to provide appreciable deceleration yet sufficiently dense to generate substantial aerodynamic heating. Topographic variability heightens the need for robust surface hazard avoidance during terminal descent and precision landing. Flight qualification presents an additional challenge, as ground test facilities cannot fully simulate Mars entry conditions. The qualification of new EDL technologies is likely to require an effort similar to the cost-intensive Viking qualification programs of the 1970s.
This study details a concept for Mars EDL capable of delivering a 20 t payload within 1 km of a target landing site at 0 km MOLA. The baseline vehicle leverages the heritage Viking aeroshell geometry. This configuration aerocaptures into a parking orbit, followed by a guided lifting entry and descent. Both supersonic retropropulsion and inflatable aerodynamic decelerators are used to decelerate the vehicle to subsonic conditions. The final descent phase employs a sky crane and pallet landing gear to mitigate the risk of landing hazards. A first-order Monte Carlo analysis demonstrated the proposed design to be capable of reaching the specified target with a 99.1% confidence when hypersonic and terminal guidance were implemented, illustrating a robustness to entry condition dispersions, atmospheric uncertainties, and variable winds.
The concept presented here explores potentially enabling EDL technologies for the continued robotic and eventual human exploration of Mars, moving beyond the Viking-heritage systems relied upon for all previous missions. These technologies confront the challenges of hypersonic guidance, supersonic deceleration, precision landing, and surface hazard avoidance. Without support for the development of these enabling technologies in the near term, the timeline for the successful advanced exploration of Mars will likely extend indefinitely.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-04-G.5.B.08.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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