Preparation of Papers for AIAA Technical Conferences
AIAA 2015-4611 SPACE Conferences & Exposition 31 Aug-2 Sep 2015, Pasadena, California AIAA SPACE 2015 Conference and Exposition A Conceptual Mars Exploration Vehicle Architecture with Chemical Propulsion, Near- Term Technology, and High Modularity to Enable Near-Term Human Missions to Mars Mark G. Benton, Sr.* The Boeing Company, El Segundo, CA 90009-2919, USA [Abstract] The Mars Exploration Vehicle (MEV) Architecture was first presented in January, 2012. It describes a possible method to accomplish a long-stay conjunction class Mars surface exploration mission, for 2033 or 2035 opportunities, with a four-person crew and using chemical propulsion, existing or near-term technology, and common modular elements to minimize development costs. It utilizes a common Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (CPS) that can be configured as an Earth Departure Stage (EDS) or Mars Transfer Stage (MTS). It satisfies mission requirements using a combination of Earth orbit rendezvous, aerobraking of unmanned landers, Mars orbit rendezvous, and Mars surface rendezvous. The purpose of this paper is to present major enhancements to the architecture and provide additional design details. The MEV architecture is assembled in low Earth orbit (LEO) from subassemblies launched by Space Launch System rockets and includes a Mars Crew Transfer Vehicle (MCTV) with a crew of four, two redundant unmanned Mars Lander Transfer Vehicles (MLTVs), and four redundant Booster Refueling Vehicles which top off CPS LH2 propellants before Trans-Mars Injection (TMI). The MCTV and its assembly sequence were redesigned to reduce mechanical complexity, enhance design commonality, simplify LEO assembly, and improve mission reliability. Each MLTV utilizes one EDS and one MTS and carries three landers as payload: The Mars Personnel Lander (MPL) provides two-way transport for four crew members between low Mars orbit (LMO) and surface.
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