Determination of Aerothermal Environment and Ablator Material Response Using Inverse MethodsThe Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) was protected during entry into the Martian atmosphere by a thermal protection system that used NASA’s Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA). The heat shield of the probe was instrumented with the Mars Entry Descent and Landing Instrument (MEDLI) suite of sensors. MEDLI Integrated Sensor Plugs (MISP) included thermocouples that measured in-depth temperatures at various locations on the heatshield. The flight data has been used as a benchmark for validating ablation codes within NASA. This work seeks to refine the estimate of the material properties for the MSL heat shield and the aerothermal environment during Mars entry using estimation methods in DAKOTA on the temperature data obtained from MEDLI.
Document ID
20200000318
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Poster
Authors
Thornton, John M. (Science and Technology Corp. Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Meurisse, Jeremie B. (Science and Technology Corp. Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Mansour, Nagi N. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)