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Mission and Design Sensitivities for Human Mars Landers Using Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic DeceleratorsLanding humans on Mars is one of NASA's long term goals. The Evolvable Mars Campaign (EMC) is focused on evaluating architectural trade options to define the capabilities and elements needed for a sustainable human presence on the surface of Mars. The EMC study teams have considered a variety of in-space propulsion options and surface mission options. As we seek to better understand how these choices affect the performance of the lander, this work informs and influences requirements for transportation systems to deliver the landers to Mars and enable these missions. This paper presents the effects of mission and vehicle design options on lander mass and performance. Beginning with Earth launch, options include fairing size assumptions, co-manifesting other elements with the lander, and Earth-Moon vicinity operations. Capturing into Mars orbit using either aerocapture or propulsive capture is assessed. For entry, descent, and landing both storable as well as oxygen and methane propellant combinations are considered, engine thrust level is assessed, and sensitivity to landed payload mass is presented. This paper focuses on lander designs using the Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators (HIAD), one of several entry system technologies currently considered for human missions.
Document ID
20170003416
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Polsgrove, Tara P.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Thomas, Herbert D.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Collins, Tim
(NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Dwyer Cianciolo, Alicia
(NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Samareh, Jamshid
(NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Date Acquired
April 12, 2017
Publication Date
March 4, 2017
Subject Category
Space Transportation And Safety
Launch Vehicles And Launch Operations
Report/Patent Number
M16-5386
Meeting Information
Meeting: IEEE Aerospace Conference
Location: Big Sky, MT
Country: United States
Start Date: March 4, 2017
End Date: March 11, 2017
Sponsors: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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