Lunar and Mars Ascent and Descent/Entry Crew Abort Modes for the Hercules Single-Stage Reusable Vehicle

Abstract

The Hercules single-stage reusable vehicle is designed to support crewed missions to both the lunar surface and Mars surface. The design maximizes crew safety by providing full coverage crew abort capability during ascent and entry/descent, either through abort-to-surface or abort-to-orbit. This paper outlines each of the abort modes and discuss the Hercules vehicle design along with the base and orbital infrastructure required to enable the full coverage abort capability. For each abort mode, trajectory simulations are flown that illustrate the requisite design capabilities and highlight the sensitivity to key design variables