Planetary Landers and Entry Probes Andrew J

Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-12958-9 - Planetary Landers and Entry Probes Andrew J. Ball, James R. C. Garry, Ralph D. Lorenz and Viktor V. Kerzhanovich Frontmatter More information

PLANETARY LANDERS AND ENTRY PROBES

This book provides a concise but broad overview of the engineering, science and ﬂight history of planetary landers and atmospheric entry probes – vehicles designed to explore the atmospheres and surfaces of other worlds. It covers engineering aspects speciﬁc to such vehicles, such as landing systems, parachutes, planetary protection and entry shields, which are not usually treated in traditional spacecraft engineering texts. Examples are drawn from over thirty different lander and entry probe designs that have been used for lunar and planetary missions since the early 1960s. The authors provide detailed illustrations of many vehicle designs from space programmes worldwide, and give basic information on their missions and payloads, irrespective of the mission’s success or failure. Several missions are discussed in more detail, in order to demonstrate the broad range of the challenges involved and the solutions implemented. Planetary Landers and Entry Probes will form an important reference for professionals, academic researchers and graduate students involved in planetary science, aerospace engineering and space mission development.

Andrew Ball is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute at The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK. He is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the British Interplanetary Society. He has twelve years of experience on European planetary missions including Rosetta and Huygens.

James Garry is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of Engineering Sciences at the University of Southampton, UK, and a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. He has worked on ESA planetary missions for over ten years and has illustrated several space-related books.

© in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-12958-9 - Planetary Landers and Entry Probes Andrew J. Ball, James R. C. Garry, Ralph D. Lorenz and Viktor V. Kerzhanovich Frontmatter More information

Ralph Lorenz is a Scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, USA. He is a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the British Interplanetary Society. He has ﬁfteen years of experience in NASA and ESA spaceﬂight projects and has authored several space books.

Viktor Kerzhanovich is a Principal Member of Technical Staff of the Mobility and Robotic Systems Section of the Autonomous Systems Division, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA. He was a participant in all Soviet planetary Venus and Mars entry probe programmes.

PLANETARY LANDERS AND ENTRY PROBES

ANDREW J. BALL The Open University

JAMES R. C. GARRY Southampton University

RALPH D. LORENZ Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

VIKTOR V. KERZHANOVICH NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo

Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK

Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York

www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521129589

This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 2007 This digitally printed version 2009

A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library

ISBN 978-0-521-82002-8 Hardback ISBN 978-0-521-12958-9 Paperback

Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

Contents

Preface page xi Acknowledgements xii List of acronyms and abbreviations xiii PART I Engineering issues speciﬁc to entry probes, landers or penetrators 1 1 Mission goals and system engineering 3 1.1 Systems engineering 3 1.2 Choice of landing site 7 2 Accommodation, launch, cruise and arrival from orbit or interplanetary trajectory 14 2.1 The launch environment 14 2.2 Transfer-trajectory choice 15 2.3 Arrival strategies 23 3 Entering atmospheres 24 3.1 Entry dynamics 24 3.2 Thermodynamics of entry 27 3.3 TPS technologies 31 3.4 Practicalities 32 4 Descent through an atmosphere 36 4.1 Overview and fundamentals 36 4.2 Extreme ballistic coefﬁcients 36 4.3 Drag enhancement devices 39 4.4 Parachute types 40 4.5 Testing 44

vi Contents 4.6 Additional components of a descent control system 45 4.7 Mars – retro-rockets in atmosphere 45 5 Descent to an airless body 47 5.1 The gravity turn 48 5.2 Efﬁcient descent 48 5.3 Realistic trajectories 48 5.4 Example – direct descent – Surveyor 49 5.5 Examples: Luna 16 and Apollo 50 5.6 Small bodies 50 5.7 Instrumentation 51 5.8 Powered re-ascent 54 5.9 Hover 54 5.10 Combined techniques – system engineering 55 6 Planetary balloons, aircraft, submarines and cryobots 56 6.1 Balloons 56 6.2 Powered aerobots (airships) 63 6.3 Aeroplanes and gliders 66 6.4 Other heavier-than-air concepts for aerial mobility 68 6.5 Submarines, hydrobots and cryobots 69 7 Arrival at a surface 71 7.1 Targeting and hazard avoidance 71 7.2 Landing gear 72 7.3 Penetration dynamics 78 7.4 Splashdown dynamics: Titan landers, Earth-return capsules 80 8 Thermal control of landers and entry probes 84 8.1 Surface coatings and radiation balance 85 8.2 Internal heat transfer 86 8.3 Thermal environment during descent 87 8.4 Thermal testing 91 8.5 Thermal modelling 91 9 Power systems 94 9.1 System requirements 94 9.2 Power and energy budgets 95 9.3 Radioisotope sources 96 9.4 Solar power 98 9.5 Battery technology 101 9.6 Other power sources 103

Contents vii 9.7 Power and thermal control 103 9.8 Nuts and bolts 104 10 Communication and tracking of entry probes 105 10.1 Entry probes: communication basics 107 10.2 Main telecom equation 112 10.3 Frequency measurements 114 10.4 Data transmission 115 10.5 Link budget 117 10.6 Tracking 117 11 Radiation environment 121 12 Surface activities: arms, drills, moles and mobility 124 13 Structures 130 14 Contamination of spacecraft and planets 132 14.1 Sources of contamination 134 14.2 Current regulations for spacecraft-borne bioload 136 14.3 Techniques for cleaning and sterilizing 136 14.4 Problems speciﬁc to spacecraft 143 14.5 Cleanliness as a separate goal 145 14.6 Sample return 146

PART II Previous atmosphere/surface vehicles and their payloads 147 15 Destructive impact probes 151 16 Atmospheric entry probes 153 16.1 First Soviet Venera and Mars entry probes 153 16.2 Venera 4–8 (V-67, V-69, V-70 and V-72) entry probes 159 16.3 Pioneer Venus probes 159 16.4 VeGa AZ balloons 170 16.5 Galileo Probe 173 16.6 Huygens 175 17 Pod landers 177 17.1 Ranger Block 2 Seismo capsules 178 17.2 Luna 4–9, 13 (Ye-6 and Ye-6M) landers 179 17.3 Mars 2, 3, 6, 7 (M-71 and M-73) landers 185 17.4 Mars 96 Small Stations 186 17.5 Mars Pathﬁnder 190

viii Contents 17.6 Beagle 2 191 17.7 Mars Exploration Rovers 196 18 Legged landers 199 18.1 Surveyor landers 199 18.2 Apollo lunar modules 199 18.3 Luna 17, 21 (Ye-8) landers and the Lunokhods 203 18.4 Luna 15, 16, 18, 20 (Ye-8-5) landers 203 18.5 Luna 23, 24 (Ye-8-5M) landers 203 18.6 Soviet LK lunar lander 203 18.7 Venera 9–14 (4V-1) and VeGa (5VK) landers 203 18.8 Viking landers 203 18.9 Mars Surveyor landers 227 18.10 Mars Science Laboratory 234 19 Payload delivery penetrators 238 19.1 Mars 96 penetrators 240 19.2 Deep Space 2 Mars Microprobes 243 19.3 Lunar-A penetrators 245 20 Small body surface missions 247 20.1 Phobos 1F 247 20.2 NEAR Shoemaker 253 20.3 Rosetta lander Philae 253 20.4 Hayabusa (MUSES-C) and MINERVA 257

PART III Case studies 261 21 Surveyor landers 263 21.1 Design 264 21.2 Flight performance 265 22 Galileo probe 267 22.1 Equipment 268 22.2 Flight performance 270 23 Huygens 273 24 Mars Pathﬁnder and Sojourner 284 25 Deep Space 2 Mars Microprobes 289 26 Rosetta lander Philae 299 27 Mars Exploration Rovers: Spirit and Opportunity 304

Contents ix 27.1 The spacecraft 304 27.2 The rovers 307 27.3 Problems encountered 311 Appendix: Some key parameters for bodies in the Solar System 313 Atmosphere models 313 Bibliography 316 Engineering 316 Reference 319 Planetary sciences 319 Historical 320 Some useful web sites 321 References 323 Index 338

Preface

This book is intended as a concise but broad overview of the engineering, science and flight history of planetary landers and atmospheric probes. Such vehicles are subject to a wide range of design and operational issues that are not experienced by ‘ordinary’ spacecraft such as Earth-orbiting satellites, or even by interplanetary flyby or orbital craft. Such issues deserve special attention, and we have attempted to bring together in one place brief discussions of many of these aspects, providing pointers to more detailed (but dispersed) coverage in the wider published literature. This volume also draws heavily on real examples of landers and probes launched (or, at least, where the launch vehicle’s engines were started with that intention!). More than 45 years have passed since the first vehicles of this type were designed. To a certain extent some past missions, of which there are over one hundred, may now be considered irrelevant from a scientific point of view, outdated from an engineering point of view and perhaps mere footnotes in the broader history of planetary exploration achievements. However, we believe they all have a place in the cultural and technical history of such endeavours, serving to illustrate the evolving technical approaches and requirements as well as lessons learned along the way. They stand as testament to the efforts of those involved in their conception and implementation. Part one of the book addresses the major engineering issues that are specific to the vehicles considered, namely atmospheric entry probes, landers and penetrators for other worlds. For material common to spacecraft in general we would refer the reader to other, existing sources. Part II aims to collect together in one place some key information on previous vehicles and their missions, with reference to the main sources of more detailed information. Part III covers some of these missions in further detail as ‘case studies’. January, 2006

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Susan Francis and her colleagues at Cambridge University Press for their encouragement and patience. Many colleagues and contacts have helped with speciﬁc queries, including: Dave Atkinson, Aleksandr T. Basilevsky, Jens Biele, Jacques Blamont, Peter Bond, Jim Burke, Ed Chester, Chad Edwards, Alex Ellery, Bernard Foing, Sven Grahn, Aleksandr Gurshtein, Leonid Gurvits, Ari-Matti Harri, Mat Irvine, Bobby Kazeminejad, Oleg Khavroshkin, Vladimir Kurt, Bernard Laub, Mikhail Ya. Marov, Serguei Matrossov, Michel Menvielle, Don P. Mitchell, Dave Northey, Colin T. Pillinger, Sergei Pogrebenko, Jean-Pierre Pommereau, Lutz Richter, Andy Salmon, Mark Sims, Oleg A. Sorokhtin, Yuri A. Surkov, Fred W. Taylor, Stephan Ulamec, Paolo Ulivi, David Williams, Andrew Wilson, Ian P. Wright, Hajime Yano, and Olga Zhdanovich. We would also like to thank Professor John Zarnecki and the staff at the Open University Library. The diagrams that populate Part II were drawn using information gleaned from a variety of sources. While researching speciﬁc details for spacecraft, the authors were glad to receive help from the following people: Charles Sobeck, Bernard Bienstock, Corby Waste, Pat Flannery, Marty Tomasko, Marcie Smith, Dan Maas, Doug Lombardi, Debra Lueb, Martin Towner, Mark Leese, Steve Lingard and John Underwood.

xii

List of acronyms and abbreviations

ACP Aerosol Collector/Pyrolyser ADS Active Descent System AFM Atomic Force Microscope AIAA American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics ALSEP Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package AMICA Asteroid Multiband Imaging Camera AMTEC Alkali Metal Thermionic Emission Technology ANC ANChor APEX Athena Precursor EXperiment APX Alpha-Proton X-ray spectrometer OR Alpha Particle X-ray spectrometer APXS Alpha-Proton X-ray Spectrometer OR Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer ARAD Analog Resistance Ablation Detector ARES Atmospheric Relaxation and Electric ﬁeld Sensor ASAP Ariane Structure for Auxiliary Payloads ASI Atmospheric Structure Instrument ATMIS ATmospheric structure and Meteorological Instrument System AU Astronomical Unit AXS Alpha-X-ray Spectrometer AZ Aerostatic Zond BER Bit Error Rate BOL Beginning-Of-Life BPSK Binary Phase-Shift Keying CASSE Cometary Acoustic Surface Sounding Experiment CCD Charge-Coupled Device

xiii

xiv List of acronyms and abbreviations CD Compact Disk CDMS Command and Data Management System CDMU Command and Data Management Unit CFRP Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic CHARGE CHemical Analysis of Released Gas Experiment CIRCLE Champollion Infrared and Camera Lander Experiment C¸IVA Comet nucleus Infrared and Visible Analyser CNES Centre National d’E´ tudes Spatiales CNP Comet Nucleus Penetrator CNSR Comet Nucleus Sample Return CoM Centre of Mass CONSERT COmet Nucleus Sounding Experiment by Radiowave Transmission COSAC COmetary Sampling And Composition experiment COSPAR COmmittee on SPAce Research CPPP Comet Physical Properties Package CR Cosmic Ray CRAF Comet Rendezvous/Asteroid Flyby CSM Command and Service Module DAS Long-lived Autonomous Station

DC Direct Current DCP Data and Command Processor DESCAM DEScent CAMera DGB Disc-Gap-Band DIM Dust Impact Monitor DIMES Descent Image Motion Estimation System DISR Descent Imager – Spectral Radiometer DLBI Differential Long Baseline Interferometer DLR Deutsches Zentrum fu¨r Luft- und Raumfahrt (German Aerospace Centre) DNA Deoxyribonucleic Acid DoD Depth of Discharge DPI Descent Phase Instrument DSC Differential Scanning Calorimeter DSN Deep Space Network DS-2 Deep Space 2 DTE Direct To Earth DVLBI Differential Very Long Baseline Interferometry DWE Doppler Wind Experiment

List of acronyms and abbreviations xv EADS European Aeronautic, Defence and Space Company EASEP Early Apollo Surface Experiments Package EDI Entry, Descent and Inﬂation EDL Entry, Descent and Landing EDLS Entry, Descent and Landing System EEPROM Electrically-Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory EM ElectroMagnetic EPDM Ethylene Propylene Diene, Modiﬁed EPI Energetic Particles Instrument ESA European Space Agency ESS Environmental Sensors Suite ETR Eastern Test Range FBC Faster, Better, Cheaper FBS Fan-Beam Sensor FMCW Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave FRCI Fibrous Refractory Composite Insulation FSK Frequency-Shift Keying GAP Gas Analysis Package GCMS Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer GCR Galactic Cosmic Ray GPR Ground-Penetrating Radar GRAM Global Reference Atmospheric Model GZU Ground Sampling Device HAD Helium Abundance Detector HASI Huygens Atmospheric Structure Instrument HGA High Gain Antenna IDD Instrument Deployment Device IDL Interactive Data Language IF Intermediate Frequency IKI Institute for Space Research

IMP Imager for Mars Pathﬁnder IMU Inertial Momentum Unit IPIU Instrument Power Interface Unit IR InfraRed ISAS Institute of Space and Astronautical Science ISEE-3 International Sun – Earth Explorer 3 ISIS In Situ Imaging System ITU International Telecommunication Union IUS Inertial Upper Stage

xvi List of acronyms and abbreviations JPL Jet Propulsion Laboratory KEP Kinetic Energy Penetrator KhM-VD Running Model – Wind Engine

KSC Kennedy Space Center LAS Large Atmospheric Structure LCPS Large Cloud Particle Size Spectrometer LET Linear Energy Transfer LGA Low Gain Antenna LGC Large Gas Chromatograph LIDAR LIght Detection And Ranging LIR Large Infrared Radiometer LK Lunar Ship LM Lunar Module LN Large Nephelometer LNMS Large Neutral Mass Spectrometer LRD Lightning and Radio emissions Detector LRF Laser Range-Finder LRV Lunar Roving Vehicle LS Lunar Seismometer LSFR Large Solar Flux Radiometer LTA Lighter Than Air MAE Materials Adherance Experiment MAG Magnetometer MAGNET Magnetometer for NetLander MAHLI MArs HandLens Imager MAPEX Microelectronics And Photonics EXperiment MARDI MARs Descent Imager MARIE MArtian Radiation envIronment Experiment MB Mo¨ssBauer spectrometer MBS Mo¨ssBauer Spectrometer MECA Mars Environmental Compatibility Assessment MECA Microscopy, Electrochemistry and Conductivity Analyser MEDLI MSL Entry, Descent and Landing Instrumentation MEEC Mars Experiment on Electrostatic Charging MEKOM Meteorological Complex

MER Mars Exploration Rover MESUR Mars Environmental SURvey MET Meteorological Package

List of acronyms and abbreviations xvii MET Modular Equipment Transporter MEx Mars Express MFEX Microrover Flight EXperiment MGS Mars Global Surveyor MI Microscopic Imager MIC Mars Microphone MIC Microscope MINERVA MIcro/Nano Experimental Robot Vehicle for Asteroid Mini-TES Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer MIP Mars In situ Propellant production precursor MIS Meteorology Instrument System MLI Multi-Layer Insulation MMRTG Mutli-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator MNTK International Scientiﬁc and Technical Committee ( ) MOx Mars Oxidant experiment MPAe Max-Planck-Institut fu¨r Aeronomie MPL Mars Polar Lander MPRO atMospheric PROpagation MSB Small Solar Battery MSL Mars Science Laboratory (previously Mars Smart Lander) MUPUS MUlti-PUrpose Sensors for surface and sub-surface science MUSES-C MU Space Engineering Spacecraft C MUSES-CN MUSES-C Nanorover MTUR atMospheric TURbulence MVACS Mars Volatiles And Climate Surveyor MWIN atMospheric WINd NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration NEAR Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous NEIGE NEtlander Ionospheric and Geodesic Experiment NEO Near-Earth Object NEP Nephelometer NFR Net Flux Radiometer NII Scientiﬁc Research Institute

NII PDS Scientiﬁc Research Institute for Parachute Landing Service ð Þ NIRS Near-InfraRed Spectrometer NMS Neutral Mass Spectrometer

xviii List of acronyms and abbreviations NPO Scientiﬁc Production Association

NTS NEC Toshiba Space Systems ODS Optical Depth Sensor ODT Orbiter Delay Time OKB Experimental Design Bureau

ONC Optical Navigation Camera OPTIMISM Observatoire Plane´TologIque: Magne´tIsme et Sismologie sur Mars PANCAM PANoramic CAMera PAW Position Adjustable Workbench PBO Polybenzoxazole PC Personal Computer PCM Pulse Code Modulation PCU Pyro Control Unit PEN PENetrator PI Principal Investigator PLL Phase-Locked Loop PLUTO PLanetary Underground TOol PM Phase Modulation PP Permittivity Probe PROM Programmable Read-Only Memory PrOP Instrument for the Evaluation of Passability

PROP-F Mobile Robot for the Evaluation of the Surface of Phobos

PROP-M Mobile Robot for the Evaluation of the Surface of Mars

PrOP-V Instrument for the Evaluation of the Surface of Venus

PSE Probe Support Equipment PSK Phase-Shift Keying PTFE PolyTetraFluoroEthylene PTUW Pressure, Temperature, hUmidity and Wind PV PhotoVoltaic RA Robotic Arm RAATS Robotic Arm Atmospheric Temperature Sensor RAC Robotic Arm Camera RAD Radiation Assessment Detector

List of acronyms and abbreviations xix RAD Rocket-Assisted Descent RADVS Radar Altimeter & Doppler Velocity Sensor RAM Random Access Memory RAT Rock Abrasion Tool RF Radio Frequency RHU Radioisotope Heater Unit RIFMA Roentgen Isotopic Fluorescence Method of Analysis

RKK Rocket-Space Corporation

RMS Root-Mean-Square RNII Russian Scientiﬁc Research Institute

RNII KP Russian Scientiﬁc Research Institute for Space Device Engineering

ROLIS ROsetta Lander Imaging System ROMAP ROsetta lander Magnetometer And Plasma monitor RPA Retarding Potential Analyser RTG Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator RX Receiving SAA South Atlantic Anomaly SAM Sample Analysis at Mars SAMPLL Simpliﬁed Analytical Model of Penetration with Lateral Loading SAS Small Atmospheric Structure SCS Stereo Camera System SD2 Sampling, Drilling and Distribution system SEIS SEISmometer SESAME Surface Electrical, Seismic and Acoustic Monitoring Experiments SEU Single Event Upset SI Syste`me Internationale SINDA Systems Improved Numerical Differencing Analyzer SIRCA-SPLIT Silicone-Impregnated Reusable Ceramic Ablator – Second- ary Polymer Layer-Impregnated Technique SIS SISmome`tre SLA Super-Lightweight Ablator SMSS Soil Mechanics Surface Sampler

xx List of acronyms and abbreviations SN Small Nephelometer SNFR Small Net Flux Radiometer SNR Signal-to-Noise Ratio SPICE Soil Properties: thermal Inertia and Cohesion Experiment SPIU System Power Interface Unit SSB Space Studies Board SSI Surface Stereo Imager SSP Surface Science Package SSV Small Science Vehicle OR Small Separable Vehicle STP Soil Temperature Probe TDL Tunable Diode Laser TECP Thermal and Electrical Conductivity Probe TEGA Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer TIRS Transverse Impulse Rocket System TM Thermal Mapper TNO Trans-Neptunian Object TPS Thermal Protection System TsUP Mission Control Centre TV Television TX Transmission UDMH Unsymmetrical DiMethyl Hydrazine UHF Ultra High Frequency Acceleration Measuring Device

UK United Kingdom US United States USA United States of America USO Ultra-Stable Oscillator UV UltraViolet VCO Voltage-Controlled Oscillator VeGa Venus-Halley VHF Very High Frequency VLBI Very Long Baseline Interferometry VNIITransMash All-Russian Scientiﬁc Research Institute of Transport Machine-Building

WAE Wheel Abrasion Experiment WCL Wet Chemistry Laboratory WEB Warm Electronics Box

List of acronyms and abbreviations xxi WW2 World War 2 XRD X-Ray Diffraction XRF X-Ray Fluorescence XRFS X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer XRS X-Ray Spectrometer 2MV (2MB) 2nd generation Mars/Venus 3-DL 3-Dimensional Laminate 3MV (3MB) 3rd generation Mars/Venus