The MetNet vehicle : a lander to deploy environmental stations for local and global investigations of Mars

Investigations of global and related local phenomena on Mars such as atmospheric circulation patterns, boundary layer phenomena, water, dust and climatological cycles and investigations of the planetary interior would benefit from simultaneous, distributed in situ measurements. Practically, such an observation network would require low-mass landers, with a high packing density, so a large number of landers could be delivered to Mars with the minimum number of launchers. The Mars Network Lander (MetNet Lander; MNL), a small semi-hard lander/penetrator design with a payload mass fraction of approximately 17 %, has been developed, tested and prototyped. The MNL features an innovative Entry, Descent and Landing System (EDLS) that is based on inflatable structures. The EDLS is capable of decelerating the lander from interplanetary transfer trajectories down to a surface impact speed of 50-70 ms(-1) with a deceleration of <500 g for <20 ms. The total mass of the prototype design is approximate to 24 kg, with approximate to 4 kg of mass available for the payload. The EDLS is designed to orient the penetrator for a vertical impact. As the payload bay will be embedded in the surface materials, the bay's temperature excursions will be much less than if it were fully exposed on the Martian surface, allowing a reduction in the amount of thermal insulation and savings on mass. The MNL is well suited for delivering meteorological and atmospheric instruments to the Martian surface. The payload concept also enables the use of other environmental instruments. The small size and low mass of a MNL makes it ideally suited for piggy-backing on larger spacecraft. MNLs are designed primarily for use as surface networks but could also be used as pathfinders for high-value landed missions.Peer reviewe

Russian Federation, [email protected] (4) Elliott School of International Affairs

Abstract While we expect productive utilization of the International Space Station (ISS) through at least 2020, there is an international need to define a concrete strategy and plan for the initial human exploration missions that will extend beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The current long term objective of global human space exploration is eventual long duration presence of people on the Martian surface. Along the pathway between current activities in LEO and eventual Mars missions are a variety of preparatory exploration missions and intermediate goals. Over the last decade several different initial steps beyond LEO have been proposed. It is important to build international consensus on such a plan soon because future missions require near-term investments for new capabilities and no single nation can achieve an ambitious program on its own. A group of academic experts from the United States and Russia are working together to address this complex multidisciplinary planning problem. The goal of this work is to provide a framework for evaluating alternatives for exploration beyond LEO. The approach of the group will build upon the goals and objectives described by the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG). An initial evaluation of different mission options by several figures of merit includes programmatic and technical risks as well as the exploration objectives each mission satisfies for different relevant stakeholders. Moving beyond the initial evaluation, the approach will also address the questions of which actors may contribute to a cooperative program, and how specific elements can be allocated to participating nations. The paper will outline the overall analysis framework used to evaluate missions. This will include a review of mission alternatives and the metrics by which they have been evaluated. As this work is ongoing, this initial evaluation of mission alternatives will be presented, and the evaluation of specific partner contributions will be addressed in future work