MARS SAMPLE RETURN ARCHITECTURE ASSESSMENT STUDY

Paper number

IAC-18,A3,3A,5,x44236

Author

Mr. Simone Centuori, Spain, Elecnor Deimos

Coauthor

Mr. Pablo Hermosin, Spain, Deimos Space SLU

Coauthor

Mr. Javier Martín, Spain, Deimos Space S.L.

Coauthor

Mr. Gabriele De Zaiacomo, Spain, Deimos Space S.L.

Coauthor

Dr. Colin Stroud, United Kingdom, Lockheed Martin UK

Coauthor

Mr. Alexander Godfrey, United Kingdom, Lockheed Martin UK Ampthill

Coauthor

Mr. Myles T. Johnson, United Kingdom, Lockheed Martin UK Ampthill

Coauthor

Ms. Holly Johnson, Canada, MDA, Robotics and Automation

Coauthor

Mr. Tej Sachdev, Canada, MDA Corporation

Coauthor

Mr. Rohaan Ahmed, Canada, MDA, Robotics and Automation

Year

2018

Abstract

The current paper aims to present the results of the ESA funded activity “Mars Sample Return Architecture Assessment Study”: its objective is to identify the critical parameters of the MSR mission, perform the rele-vant trade-offs at both mission and system level, evaluate different mission scenarios and select the best can-didates to be then furtherly. 
The study has been carried-out by an industrial consortium composed by DEIMOS Space S.L.U. as prime contractor and responsible for the mission design, Lockheed Martin UK Ampthill for the system design, mass budget and risk analysis and MDA Corporation for the payload mechanisms.
Mars Sample Return is a joint collaborative project of ESA and NASA aimed at bringing to Earth several surface samples from the Red Planet. The mission is considered a major milestone to enable Mars human exploration, because it will allow scientists to better understand the characteristics of Mars and, based on this information, to design the infrastructure that will receive the first astronauts travelling to the Red Planet. Such complex objective envisages several mission phases, from the Earth-Mars transfer to the Mars orbital phase, the descent and landing on the Martian surface, the ascent from the Red Planet, the inbound leg towards Earth and the entry in the terrestrial atmosphere followed by the landing on our planet of the capsule containing the astrobiological sample. 
Several trade-offs of all the mission design parameters have been studied during the course of the activity in order to evaluate the mission feasibility and its sensitivity to the most critical design drivers: the combination of candidate propulsion systems (1 chemical and 4 electrical) together with the consideration of all possible staging scenarios and the possibility of performing a full or partial aero-braking for Mars orbit acquisition, leaded to the analysis of more than 500 mission scenarios. An extensive analysis has then been conducted at both mission and system level to verify the fulfilment of the mission goals including: the full definition of the transfer trajectories and Rendezvous operations, the entry corridor in the Earth return together with the dispersion at Earth landing site, the mission risk assessment and the payload mechanisms definition. 
The most promising options foresee full chemical propulsion or a mixed system joining the chemical thrusters with the powerful ARM electrical engine. In both cases the mission will rely on the use of aero-braking and staging to reduce the spacecraft wet mass.

Abstract document

IAC-18,A3,3A,5,x44236.brief.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-18,A3,3A,5,x44236.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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