Other
Scientific paper
Sep 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008epsc.conf..618l&link_type=abstract
European Planetary Science Congress 2008, Proceedings of the conference held 21-25 September, 2008 in Münster, Germany. Online a
Other
Scientific paper
Two small penetrators, each with a landed mass of only 2.5kg, were launched to Mars as piggyback payloads with the Mars Polar Lander, arriving in December 1999. Although no data were received from these Mars Microprobes (the cause of the failures, and that of MPL itself, is not known with certainty, although several possible failure modes exist) they represent a paradigm shift in the scale of practicable landers, and their development provides a number of important lessons for similar mission concepts. The penetrators featured a sample acquisition drill with a crude thermal analyzer, coupled to a tunable diode laser water detector, to detect the presence of water ice in the Martian subsurface at the landing site at high southern latitude. Additionally, the cooling of the penetrator to the ambient soil temperature would be monitored to infer the thermal conductivity of the soil, perhaps indicating the presence of ice. Similarly, the violent deceleration of the probe (~20,000g) from its 200 m/s impact would be measured to infer the strength and possible layering of the soil (the author's responsibility on the DS2 Science Team) and to estimate the penetration depth. Additionally, a separate accelerometer records the deceleration in the atmosphere to recover a density profile while the probe is encased in a frangible heat shield that shatters on impact (there were no parachutes.) Particular challenges in the project were the (possibly fatal) rapid schedule, as well as the impact deceleration and the low temperature environment, particularly important factors for the lithium battery design. Remarkably, volume limitations were more constraining than mass limits (indeed, the penetrator nose was chosen to be very dense Tungsten in order to keep the center of mass forward for aerodynamic stability) which made assembly (and in particular disassembly) very time-consuming. These and other lessons learned will be discussed.
No associations
LandOfFree
Miniaturized Mars Probes: The DS-2 Experience does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Miniaturized Mars Probes: The DS-2 Experience, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Miniaturized Mars Probes: The DS-2 Experience will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1793898