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    • Martian GNSS: Preliminary design and performance analysis of a European evolutionary system

    Paper number

    IAC-05-D3.3.04

    Author

    Mr. Antonio Fernández, DEIMOS Space S.L., Spain

    Coauthor

    Mr. Fabrizio Pirondini, DEIMOS Space S.L., Spain

    Coauthor

    Dr. Guy Janin, European Space Agency/ESOC, Germany

    Year

    2005

    Abstract
    OBJECTIVES. 
This paper presents the main results of an ESA-sponsored roadmap study for a European Martian GNSS, providing incremental navigation services to the Aurora programme (European long-term strategy for the robotic and human exploration of the solar system for the next 25 years, culminating in a manned landing on Mars) Mars missions. A Martian GNSS would operate much as the Galileo or GPS systems around the Earth, enabling precise real-time autonomous positioning for fixed or moving surface asset and navigation during all mission phases around Mars, as well as an accurate timing service available planet-wide.

ANALYSES AND SIMULATIONS.
The study presents a roadmap for the overall design of a Martian GNSS programme that spans up to 2030, dubbed MARCO POLO (MARtian COnstellation for Precise Object LOcation). The MARCO POLO programme is envisaged as a modular and incremental navigation service provider spanning the decades of planned Aurora activities, through an evolving constellation of navigation satellites suited to provide a level of service that is both adequate to the user requirements and cost-effective.
The study includes the design of three types of Martian constellations, allowing the incremental development and deployment of the MARCO POLO system in line with the Aurora programme needs. These constellations, designed using navigation performances as the main figures of merit, evolve from the first non-real time 2-D navigation constellation with limited coverage area to the final real-time 3-D global navigation system, with an intermediate step of a constellation offering 3-D real time navigation over a limited area of the planet (also using the so-called “Marsstationary” satellites).
Each constellation type has been conceived as a stand-alone system, in order to detail the building blocks to be used to design an evolutionary and modular Martian GNSS spanning over 25 years. A detailed navigation performance assessment is carried out at different receiver locations, with the support of design tools specifically developed for the study. 
The mission analysis has been addressed paying special attention to the Earth-to-Mars transfer. For each opportunity in the next 40 years, the optimal trajectories using both low-thrust navigation and chemical propulsion have been derived. Optimal trajectories have been computed with the Trajectory Reconstruction Utility of LOTNAV, a SW tool developed by DEIMOS Space in the frame of an ESA contract. Two scenarios have been studied: an all-chemical propulsion system and a mixed system with chemical and low-thrust modules departing from Earth (from a GTO-like orbit) and arriving Mars for orbit injection. Sensitivity analyses have been also carried out to study the variation of the optimised trajectories and of the payload performance with the variation of initial mass in Earth Orbit and target altitude around Mars.
The strategy and problematics of constellation deployment, orbit maintenance and end of life disposal have also been addressed, as well as the preliminary spacecraft design, launch analysis (including strategy and launcher selection) and ground segment design.
Finally, a MARCO POLO Master Plan is proposed, identifying four reference development and deployment scenarios (depending on the level of service provided and the overall complexity and system costs) in line with the needs of the Aurora programme.

CONCLUSION AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE WORK.
Although some relevant work has been recently presented on low-cost Mars constellations for communications and planetary survey, the idea of a Global Satellite System around Mars focused purely on navigation (hence a truly GNSS) has never been addressed before in details in Europe.
This paper presents the main results of the first ESA-sponsored study for a Martian GNSS, aimed at providing incremental navigation services to the ESA Aurora programme Mars missions. The study includes the design, navigation performance, mission analysis, deployment strategies and master plan for three types of Martian constellations, allowing the incremental development of the MARCO POLO system, from the first non-real time 2-D navigation constellation with limited coverage area to the final real-time 3-D global navigation system.
    Abstract document

    IAC-05-D3.3.04.pdf

    Manuscript document

    IAC-05-D3.3.04.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

    To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.