Current Status of Shock Layer Radiation Studies for Planetary Probes

Radiative heating by the shock layer gases surrounding an entry probe is an important heating mechanism for many planetary entries. The magnitude of radiative heating for planetary atmospheres may be characterized with flight similarity in a shock tube capable of obtaining flight relevant velocities and atmospheric density/composition. Over the last decade, studies performed in the Electric Arc Shock Tube (EAST) at NASA Ames have characterized the radiative heating magnitudes for most relevant planetary destinations: Mars, Venus, Titan, Saturn, Uranus. Predictions of heating for a given entry trajectory are simulated by a combination of hypersonic flowfield modeling and the radiation code, NEQAIR, and then compared to the EAST test data. This paper will discuss the measurements, summarize the current simulation capability and provide indications for destination specific radiative heating uncertainties.