This content is not included in
your SAE MOBILUS subscription, or you are not logged in.
RTG Impact Response to Hard Landing During Mars Environmental Survey (MESUR) Mission
Annotation ability available
Sector:
Language:
English
Abstract
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is studying a seven-year robotic mission (MESUR, Mars Environmental Survey) for the seismic, meteorological, and geochemical exploration of the Martian surface by means of a network of - 16 small, inexpensive landers spread from pole to pole. To permit operation at high Martian latitudes, NASA has tentatively decided to power the landers with small RTGs (Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators). To support the NASA mission study, the Department of Energy's Office of Special Applications commissioned Fairchild to perform specialized RTG design studies. Those studies indicated that the cost and complexity of the mission could be significantly reduced if the RTGs had sufficient impact resistance to survive ground impact of the landers without retrorockets. Fairchild designs of RTGs configured for high impact resistance were reported previously. Since then, the size, configuration, and impact velocity of the landers and the power level and integration mode of the RTGs have changed substantially, and the previous impact analysis has been updated accordingly. The analytical results, reported here, indicate that a lander by itself experiences much higher g-loads than the lander with an integral penetrator; but that minor modifications of the shape of the lander can very substantially reduce the maximum g-load during landing, thus eliminating the need for retrorockets for RTG survival.
Authors
Citation
Schock, A. and Mukunda, M., "RTG Impact Response to Hard Landing During Mars Environmental Survey (MESUR) Mission," SAE Technical Paper 929480, 1992, https://doi.org/10.4271/929480.Also In
References
- JPL Exploration Precursors Task Team 1989 “Mission Concept and Development for Mars Global Network Mission,” Jet Propulsion Laboratory Pasadena, California December 1989
- Ames Research Center 1991 “Mars Environmental Survey (MESUR) Science Objective and Mission Description,” National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Ames Research Center California July 1991
- Schock, A. 1991 “Design of Small Impact Resistant RTGs for Global Network of Unmanned Mars Landers,” 42nd Congress of the International Astronautical Federation Montreal, Canada October 1991
- Schock, A. 1980 “Design, Evolution and Verification of the General Purpose Heat Source,” #809203 Proc. of the 15th Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Conference Seattle, Washington 1980
- Schock, A. 1979 “Design, Analysis and Optimization of RTG for Solar Polar Mission,” Proc. of the 14th Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Conference Boston, Massachusetts August 1979
- Schock, A. 1981 “Modular Isotopic Thermoelectric Generator,” #819174 Proc. of the 16th Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Conference Atlanta, Georgia August 1981
- Schock, A. 1983 “MITG Test Assembly Design and Fabrication,” #839173 Proc. of the 18th Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Conference Orlando, Florida August 1983
- Pohl, W. Hoek M.J.v.d. Buis J. P. Florie C.J.L. Hancock S.L. Goenenboom P.H.L. Hesselink D.J.E. Lenselink H. Schaffers P.J.J. 1984 The PISCES Software for DEFENSE The Netherlands PISCES International, B.V. 1984
- Dunbar, George Physics International Personal Communication September 1986
- Cowler, M. Birnbaum, N. 1990 AUTODYNE-3D Century Dynamics Oakland, California 1990