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Mars Aeronomy Explorer (MAX): Study Employing Distributed Micro-SpacecraftAn overview of a Mars Aeronomy Explorer (MAX) mission design study performed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is presented herein. The mission design consists of ten micro-spacecraft orbiters launched on a Delta IV to Mars polar orbit to determine the spatial, diurnal and seasonal variation of the constituents of the Martian upper atmosphere and ionosphere over the course of one Martian year. The spacecraft are designed to allow penetration of the upper atmosphere to at least 90 km. This property coupled with orbit precession will yield knowledge of the nature of the solar wind interaction with Mars, the influence of the Mars crustal magnetic field on ionospheric processes, and the measurement of present thermal and nonthermal escape rates of atmospheric constituents. The mission design incorporates alternative design paradigms that are more appropriate for-and in some cases motivate-distributed micro-spacecraft. These design paradigms are not defined by a simple set of rules, but rather a way of thinking about the function of instruments, mission reliability/risk, and cost in a systemic framework.
Document ID
20080008579
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Conference Paper
External Source(s)
Authors
Shotwell, Robert F.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Gray, Andrew A.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Illsley, Peter M.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Johnson, M.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Sherwood, Robert L.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Vozoff, M.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Ziemer, John K.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
March 5, 2005
Subject Category
Spacecraft Design, Testing And Performance
Report/Patent Number
IEEEAC Paper I400
Meeting Information
Meeting: IEEE Aerospace Conference
Location: Big Sky, MT
Country: United States
Start Date: March 5, 2005
End Date: March 12, 2005
Sponsors: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
Mars
micro spacecraft
framework
distributed designs
reliability

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