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A Capable and Temporary Test Facility on a Shoestring Budget: The MSL Touchdown Test FacilityThe Mars Science Laboratory mission (MSL) has undertaken a developmental Touchdown Test Program that utilizes a full-scale rover vehicle and an overhead winch system to replicate the skycrane landing event. Landing surfaces consisting of flat and sloped granular media, planar, rigid surfaces, and various combinations of rocks and slopes were studied. Information gathered from these tests was vital for validating the rover analytical model, validating certain design or system behavior assumptions, and for exploring events and phenomenon that are either very difficult or too costly to model in a credible way. This paper describes this test program, with a focus on the creation of test facility, daily test operations, and some of the challenges faced and lessons learned along the way.
Document ID
20110007178
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Conference Paper
External Source(s)
Authors
White, Christopher V.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Frankovich, John K.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Yates, Philip
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Wells, George, Jr.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Robert, Losey
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 25, 2013
Publication Date
April 8, 2008
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Meeting Information
Meeting: 24th Aerospace Testing Seminar
Location: Manhattan Beach, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: April 8, 2008
End Date: April 10, 2008
Sponsors: Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
rover
planetary landing
skycrane
system testing
Mars Science Laboratory

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