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Mars Entry, Descent & Landing (EDL)

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Mars Entry, Descent & Landing (EDL) National Aeronautics and Space Administration Entry, Descent and Landing for Future Human Space Flight Briefing to the National Research Council Technical Panel March 27, 2013 Michelle M. Munk • NASA Langley Research Center Outline • Introduction: EDL applicability beyond LEO – Mars – Earth Return • Lander Challenges • Mars EDL Challenges – History of Mars landings – Human Architecture Team (HAT) Activities – Roadmapping Efforts and Results • EDL Supporting Capabilities • Summary Comments 2 EDL Challenges for Humans Beyond LEO • Entry, Descent and Landing requires development to flight readiness, to varying degrees, for multiple human mission scenarios: – Earth Return from a NEO/NEA (12-13 km/s) – Mars surface missions – aerocapture, entry, descent and landing – Earth Return from Mars (up to 13.5 km/s) • Challenges for Earth return are in aerothermal environment prediction, lightweight, reliable thermal protection systems (TPS), and landing systems • Challenges for Mars are in all aspects of EDL systems 3 Lander Capabilities • Autonomous landing for assets • Hazard avoidance and site redesignation • Ability to land within a given proximity of a predeployed asset • High-thrust, multi-restart, deep throttling engines (100 kN) • Feed-forward propellants and engine designs are desired – LOX/CH4 engines can be used at Mars, potentially with ISRU • Lightweight, high-strength materials certification enables lighter designs • Inflatable pressure vessels (habitats or other) could reduce launch volume and improve system performance 4 ApolloApollo LM LM HATHAT LOR LOR Sortie Sortie AltairAltair Sortie Sortie ApolloApollo LM LM HATHAT LOR LOR Sortie Sortie AltairAltair Sortie Sortie 22 Crew Crew 44 Crew Crew 44 Crew Crew 22 Crew Crew 44 Crew Crew 44 Crew Crew 33 Day Day Surface Surface Stay Stay 77 Day Day Surface Surface Stay Stay 77 Day Day Surface Surface Stay Stay 33 Day Day Surface Surface Stay Stay 77 Day Day Surface Surface Stay Stay 77 Day Day Surface Surface Stay Stay DuskDusk or or Dawn Dawn Thermal Thermal Equatorial/PolarEquatorial/Polar GlobalGlobal Access Access DuskDusk Environ.or or Dawn Dawn Thermal Thermal EnvironmentsEquatorial/PolarEquatorial/Polar GlobalGlobal Access Access Environ.Environ. EnvironmentsEnvironments 4,700 kgEnviron. Ascended 6,126 Environmentskg Ascended 6,291 kg Ascended 4,7004,700 kg kg Ascended Ascended 6,1266,126 kg kg Ascended Ascended 6,2916,291 kg kg Ascended Ascended 4,700MassMass kg Ascended 6,126MassMass kg Ascended 6,291MassMass kg Ascended MassMass MassMass MassMass 2.62.6 m m Deck Deck Height Height 3.453.45 m m Deck Deck Height Height 6.36.3 m m Deck Deck Height Height 2.62.6 m m Deck Deck Height Height 3.453.45 m m Deck Deck Height Height 6.36.3 m m Deck Deck Height Height 6.76.7 m3 m3 Pressurized Pressurized 3434 m3 m3 Pressurized Pressurized Vol. Vol. 2020 m3 m3 Pressurized Pressurized Vol. Vol. 6.76.7 m3 m3Vol. Pressurized Pressurized 3434 m3 m3 Pressurized Pressurized Vol. Vol. 2020 m3 m3 Pressurized Pressurized Vol. Vol. Vol.Vol. Aerozine 50/NVol. ₂O₂ ₄ ₄ LOX/CH4 Descent LOX/LH2 Descent AerozineAerozine 50/N 50/NO₂O ₄ LOX/CH4LOX/CH4 Descent Descent LOX/LH2LOX/LH2 Descent Descent AerozineDescentDescent 50/N ₂O₄ LOX/CH4Prop.Prop. Descent LOX/LH2Prop.Prop. Descent DescentDescent Prop.Prop. Prop.Prop. DirectDirect 180180 Day Day LLO LLO Loiter Loiter 44 Day Day LEO LEO Loiter Loiter DirectDirect 180180 Day Day LLO LLO Loiter Loiter 44 Day Day LEO LEO Loiter Loiter Why is Mars EDL So Challenging? Mars has too much atmosphere to ignore, and too little to be very useful – Heating and aerodynamic loads are significant enough to require a heatshield – In an atmosphere with density 1/100th that of Earth’s atmosphere, slowing heavy, fast-moving payloads over a vertical distance of 125 km is difficult 5 Mars Entry, Descent & Landing (EDL) History • MER: We’ve come a long Spirit & Opportunity way, but have that (185 kg) much further to go… • Our 1970’s Viking era First hypersonic guidance technology is “broken” First 4.5-m aeroshell First PICA heatshield beyond MSL-sized MPF: First 21.5-m chute spacecra Sojourner MSL: Curiosity First good instrumentaVon (10.5 kg) (899 kg) Viking 1/2! Pathfinder! MER A/B! Phoenix! MSL! Diameter, m! 3.505! 2.65! 2.65! 2.65! 4.5! 9+ (varies) Entry Mass, kg! 930! 585! 840! 602! 3151! 80,000-100,000 Landed Mass (kg)! 603! 360! 539! 364! 1541! Up to 60,000 Landing Altitude (km)! -3.5! -1.5! -1.3! -3.5! -4.4! <=2 Peak Heat Rate, W/cm2! 24! 106! 48! 56! ~120! ~120-350 6 Example Crewed Mars Surface Mission (NASA Mars Design Reference Architecture 5.0 Derived) AEDL EDL ~500 days M H M H H M Habitat lander Mars ascent Mars Orbit M H H docks to deep vehicle docks space vehicle to deep space vehicle Crew transit to Mars Crew transit ~180 days from Mars Deep space Propulsion system docks ~180 days habitat Orion docks to jesoned to deep space habitat deep space habitat Ref. Assembly Orbit Crew transit to deep space habitat Orion with crew MulVple Launches MulVple Launches • Advanced propulsion • Deep space habitat Launch • Habitat lander & • Advanced propulsion • Orion and Crew H surface systems • Chemical propulsion • Mars ascent vehicle • Drop tank Mission DuraVon: M § Transit to: ~180 days § DesVnaVon: ~500 days § Transit from: ~180 days - SLS: Space Launch System SLS - Crew SLS - Cargo SLS - Cargo 7 Pre-Deploy Cargo Crew to Mars Mars EDL Capability Needs Increase Mars Robotic Class Mars Exploration Class Parameter Mission Mission Payload Mass on Mars 1 to 5 metric tons 20 to 50 metric tons Entry Initial Condition Direct Entry Mars Orbit or Mars Orbit, or Aerocapture from up to up to 7.6 km/s 9+ km/s Landed Elevation 0 km MOLA Unconstrained (up to 2+ km MOLA?) Landing footprint < 5 km accuracy < 100 m accuracy (MSL footprint was 9x16 (depends on surface ops km, landed within 2.5 km of scenario, predeployed center) assets) Launch Vehicle Atlas, Various SLS On Orbit Assembly? None Rendezvous & Docking Atmosphere Avoid dust storm season Unconstrained Design Point of Departure Mars Sample Return DRA 5.0 8 EDL – Systems Analysis Background • In 2009-10, the Entry, Descent and Landing Systems Analysis (EDL- SA) study was performed by a team of multiple NASA centers to examine the EDL portion of the Human Mars architecture presented in Design Reference Architecture 5.0 (DRA5), specifically to: – Identify candidate technologies for performing the Mars EDL portion of DRA5 – Determine the relative performance of the technologies through simulation – Perform expert Figure-of-Merit (FOM) assessment of the candidate technologies/ architectures—a mixture of quantitative and qualitative assessment • Deceleration technologies considered: – Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators (HIADs) – Mid-L/D rigid aeroshells (aka Ellipsleds) – Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators (SIADs) – Supersonic Retropropulsion (SRP) – actually a continuum of system performance • Conclusions: – Inflatable decelerators potentially reduce Mars arrival mass by 20% over rigid, mid-L/D aeroshells – Those architectures with fewer technologies fared better in FOM assessment – Multiple technologies should continue to be considered 9 EDL-SA Architectures Considered #9 110 84 265 109 134 141 107 81 99 Arrival Mass (mt) 10 HAT Activities Following EDL-SA • Higher-fidelity simulation follows from payload definition and packaging to Mid-L/D inform risk posture and define specific Angle of ARack = 55 deg HIAD L/D = 0.5 challenges in the areas of: Angle of ARack = -22.2 deg L/D = 0.33 - stability HIAD Dia = 23 m Descent Stage Separaon - controllability Mach = 2.6 AlFtude = 7.3 km - transition feasibility Descent Stage Separaon Mach = 1.8 - divert capability AlFtude = 5.8 km TDI Alt = 4.5 km Range = 10.5 km Terminal Descent IniFaon AlFtude = 3.4 km Range to Target = 5.1 km Front&Exit&Clam&Shell& Side&Exit&Clam&Shell& Step 1 – Maintain entry Technical Challenges AoA, clam shell seam Step 1 - Pitch to 0 deg AoA rolled into flow Step 3 – Lander clears Step 2 – Pyro separate two halves of barrel clam shell halves in sequence to provide clam shell opening Step 3 – Lander clears barrel Step 5 – Once clear from the aeroshell halves, Step 2 – Pyro separate ignite descent engines – two halves of barrel in perform lateral divert sequence and halves maneuver as well as separate into flow decelerate Step 4 – Once clear from the aeroshell, ignite descent engines and maneuver to descent attitude – perform lateral divert maneuver as well 11 as decelerate Key Technologies for Entry, Descent & Landing-MPPG Near-Term Sub-scale Human Approach Phase RoboFc Precursor Full-Scale (1-2mT) (5-10mT) (20-40mT) Approach Precision Star Tracker, Late Update, OpFcal Nav, Navigaon Precision IMU Entry Phase Atmospheric Guidance Li] Modulaon, Drag Modulaon Hypersonic Deployables: Inflatable, Mechanical Decelerators Applicable Potentially Rigid: Slender body Aeroshell Descent Phase Supersonic Smart Deploy Logic Decelerators 30m Supersonic Parachute SIAD Fully Applicable Fully Supersonic Retro- High-thrust liquid propulsion Landing Phase Terrain Relave Pinpoint Landing, Hazard Avoidance Navigaon Subsonic Solids, Liquids Propulsion Energy Absorpon Airbags, Crushables Investment Priorities High-g Systems Rough Lander 12 EDL Developments Require Early Start • EDL requires extensive lead times, and Mars landing opportunities are limited. – It took 8 launch opportunities to get from Sojourner to Curiosity. – It took until 2012 to obtain unambiguous engineering data from a Mars heatshield. • Numerous roadmapping activities all agree that development
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