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Mars Science Laboratory
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The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a NASA rover scheduled to be launched between October and December 2011 and perform the first-ever precision landing on Mars. This rover will be three times as heavy and twice the width of the Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) that landed in 2004.
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The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a NASA rover scheduled to be launched between October and December 2011 and perform the first-ever precision landing on Mars. This rover will be three times as heavy and twice the width of the Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) that landed in 2004. It will carry more advanced scientific instruments than any other mission to Mars to date, including instruments for the analysis of samples scooped up from the soil and drilled powders from rocks. It will also investigate the past or present ability of Mars to support microbial life. The United States, Canada, Germany, France, Russia and Spain will provide the instruments onboard.
The MSL rover will be launched by an Atlas V 541 rocket and will be expected to operate for at least 1 martian year (668 Martian sols/686 Earth days) as it explores with greater range than any previous Mars rover. Discover Magazine states that the cost of the MSL is $1.9 billion USD.
Goals and objectives
The MSL has four goals: To determine if life ever arose on Mars, to characterize the climate of Mars, to characterize the geology of Mars, and to prepare for human exploration. To contribute to the four science goals and meet its specific goal of determining Mars' habitability, Mars Science Laboratory has eight scientific objectives:
- Determine the nature and inventory of organic carbon compounds.
- Inventory the chemical building blocks of life: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur.
- Identify features that may represent the effects of biological processes.
- Investigate the chemical, isotopic, and mineralogical composition of the martian surface and near-surface geological materials.
- Interpret the processes that have formed and modified rocks and soils.
- Assess long-timescale (i.e., 4-billion-year) martian atmospheric evolution processes.
- Determine present state, distribution, and cycling of water and carbon dioxide.
- Characterize the broad spectrum of surface radiation, including galactic radiation, cosmic radiation, solar proton events and secondary neutrons.
History
In September 2006, MSL was approved by NASA for a 2009 launch.
In April 2008, it was reported that the project is $235 million USD, or 24% over budget. The money to compensate this overrun should come from other NASA Mars missions that will need to be cut.
In August 2008, it was announced that the third MSL workshop would be held to summarize the data on the 7 potential landing sites. The result of the voting for the third MSL workshop is that the top three candidate sites in order of votes are: the Eberswalde Crater, the Holden Crater, and the Gale Crater.
In October 2008, MSL is getting closer to a 30% cost overrun and without additional funding may be cancelled if additional funds are not granted by the United States Congress. Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA has said that the rover's progress will be assessed again in January, but that he "fully believe that Congress will support [MSL] as we go forward on this because they recognize the importance of the mission as well."
On November 18 2008, a contest began for students 5 to 18 years old to name the rover. The essays will be received by January 25, 2009. In March 2009, the general public will have an opportunity to rank nine finalist names through the Internet as additional input for judges to consider during the selection process. NASA will announce the winning rover name in April 2009.
On November 19 2008, NASA announced that MSL project leaders at JPL had reduced the list of candidate landing sites to four: Eberswalde, Gale, Holden, Mawrth.
On December 3 2008, NASA announced that the MSL launch will be delayed until the fall of 2011 as a result of the current progress in building the hardware and testing it. Although the delay will increase the overall cost of the mission it was decided that for testing purposes the schedule for the October 2009 launch was not feasible.
Specifications
Length/weight
The MSL will have a length of and weigh including of scientific instruments. It will be the same size as a Mini Cooper automobile.
This compares to the Mars Exploration Rovers which have a length of and weigh including of scientific instruments.
Speed
Once on the surface, the MSL rover will be able to roll over obstacles approaching in height. Maximum terrain-traverse speed is estimated to be per hour via automatic navigation, however, average traverse speeds will likely be about per hour, based on variables including power levels, difficulty of the terrain, slippage, and visibility. MSL is expected to traverse a minimum of in its two-year mission.
Power source
The rover will be powered by radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), as used by the successful Mars landers Viking 1 and Viking 2 in 1976. Solar power is not an efficient power source for Mars surface operations because solar power systems cannot operate effectively at high Martian latitudes, in shaded areas, nor in dusty conditions. Furthermore, solar power cannot provide power at night, thus limiting the ability of the rover to keep its systems warm, reducing the life expectancy of electronics. RTGs can provide reliable, continuous power day and night, and waste heat can be used via pipes to warm systems, freeing electrical power for the operation of the vehicle and instruments.
The proposed power source will use the latest RTG generation, built by Boeing and it is called the "Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator" (MMRTG), which is a flexible and compact power system under development and based on conventional RTGs. The MSL will generate 2.5 kilowatt hours per day compared to the Mars Exploration Rovers which can generate about 0.6 kilowatt hours per day. Although the mission is programmed to last about 2 years, the MMRTG will have a minimum lifetime of 14 years.
Heat Rejection System
The Heat Rejection System (HRS) uses fluid pumped through 200 feet of tubes in the MSL body so that sensitive components are kept at certain temperatures. The temperature in the area that MSL might land at can vary from +86ºF to -197ºF (+30 to -127ºC). There are three methods of heating components with the first being that certain components will generate heat, heaters will be put next to certain components, and the HRS can gather excess heat from the MMRTG. The HRS can also cool components if necessary.
Computers
The two identical on-board rover computers are called "Rover Electronics Module" (REM) and they contain radiation hardened memory to tolerate the extreme radiation environment from space and to safeguard against power-off cycles. Each computer's memory includes 256 kB of EEPROM, 256 MB of DRAM, and 2 GB of flash memory. This compares to 3 MB of EEPROM, 128 MB of DRAM, and 256 MB of flash memory used in the Mars Exploration Rovers.
The REM computers use the RAD750 CPU which is a successor to the RAD6000 CPU used in the Mars Exploration Rovers. The RAD750 CPU is capable of 300 MIPS while the RAD6000 CPU is capable of 35 MIPS.
The rover carries an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) that provides 3-axis information on its position; the device is used in rover navigation to support safe traverses and to estimate the degree of tilt. The rover's computers will constantly self-monitor its systems, communications and thermal stability at all times. Activities such as taking pictures, driving, and operating the instruments will be performed under commands transmitted in a command sequence to the rover from the flight team. In case of problems, the backup computer can be turned on to take over control and continue the mission.
Proposed scientific payload
At present, 10 instruments have been selected for development or production for the Mars Science Laboratory rover:
Cameras (MastCam, MAHLI, MARDI)
All cameras are being developed by Malin Space Science Systems and they all share common design components, such as on-board electronic imaging processing boxes and 1600x1200 color CCDs.
- MastCam: This system will provide multiple spectra and true color imaging with two-camera stereoscopic (three-dimensional) vision. True-color are at 1200x1200 pixels and up to 10 frames per second hardware-compressed, high-definition video at 1280 x 720. For comparison the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) panoramic cameras can only produce 1024 x 1024 black & white images. Both cameras will have mechanical zoom and can image objects as far away as 1 km at a resolution of 10 cm per pixel.
- Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI): This system will consist of a camera mounted to a robotic arm on the rover. It will be used to acquire microscopic images of rock and soil. Unlike the MI, MAHLI will take true color images at 1600 x 1200 pixels with a resolution as high as 12.5 micrometers per pixel. MAHLI will have both white and UV LED illumination for imaging in darkness or imaging fluorescence. MAHLI will also have mechanical focusing in a range from infinite to mm distances.
- MSL Mars Descent Imager (MARDI): Developed by Malin Space Science Systems. During the descent to the Martian surface, MARDI will take approximately 500 color images at 1600 x 1200 pixels starting at distances of about 3.7 km to near 5 meters from the ground and will take images at a rate of 5 frames per second for about 2 minutes. MARDI imaging will allow the mapping of surrounding terrain and location of landing.
ChemCam
ChemCam is a remote Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) system that can target a rock from up to 13 meters away, vaporizing a small amount of the underlying mineral and then collecting a spectrum of the light emitted by the vaporized rock by using a micro-imaging camera with an angular resolution of 80 microradians. It is being developed by the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the French CESR laboratory. An infrared laser with 1067 nm wavelength and a 5 ns pulse will focus on a spot with 1 GW/cm², depositing 30 mJ of energy. Detection will be done between 240 nm and 800 nm.
In October 2007 NASA announced that they would cap funding for the ChemCam because of a 70% cost overrun and that the instrument has to be built with the money already provided. The flight model of the Mast Unit was delivered from the French CNES to Los Alamos National Laboratory and was able to deliver the engineering model to JPL in February 2008.
Alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS)
This device will irradiate samples with alpha particles and map the spectra of X-rays that are reemitted for determining the elemental composition of samples. It is being developed by the Canadian Space Agency. The APXS is a form of PIXE, which has previously been used by the Mars Pathfinder and the Mars Exploration Rovers.
CheMin
Chemin stands for "Chemistry & Mineralogy X-Ray Diffraction/X-Ray Fluorescence Instrument". CheMin is a X-ray diffraction/X-ray fluorescence instrument that will quantify minerals and mineral structure of samples. It is being developed by Dr. David Blake at NASA Ames Research Center and the NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM)
The SAM instrument suite will analyze organics and gases from both atmospheric and solid samples. It is being developed by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the Laboratoire Inter-Universitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA) of France's CNRS and Honeybee Robotics, along with many additional external partners. The SAM suite consists on three instruments:
- Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer (QMS)
- Gas Chromatograph (GC)
- Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS)
The Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer (QMS) will detect gases sampled from the atmosphere or those released from solid samples by heating. The Gas Chromatograph (GC) will be used to separate out individual gases from a complex mixture into molecular components with a mass range of 2–235 u.
The Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS) will perform precision measurements of oxygen and carbon isotope ratios in carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) in the atmosphere of Mars in order to distinguish between a geochemical and a biological origin.
The SAM also has three subsystems: The Chemical Separation and Processing Laboratory (CSPL), for enrichment and derivatization of the organic molecules of the sample; the Sample Manipulation System (SMS) for transporting powder delivered from the MSL drill to a SAM inlet and into one of 74 sample cups. The SMS then moves the sample to the SAM oven to release gases by heating to up to 1000 oC; and the Wide Range Pumps (WRP) subsystem to purge the QMS, TLS, and the CPSL.
Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD)
This instrument will characterize the broad spectrum of radiation found near the surface of Mars for purposes of determining the viability and shielding needs for human explorers. Funded by the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters and developed by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and the extraterrestrial physics group at Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Germany.
Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN)
A pulsed neutron source and detector for measuring hydrogen or ice and water at or near the martian surface, provided by the Russian Federal Space Agency.
Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS)
Meteorological package and an ultraviolet sensor provided by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science. It will be mounted on the camera mast and measure atmospheric pressure, humidity, wind currents and direction, air and ground temperature and ultraviolet radiation levels.
MSL Entry Descent and Landing Instrumentation (MEDLI)
The MEDLI project’s main objective is to measure aerothermal environments, sub-surface heat shield material response, vehicle orientation, and atmospheric density for the atmospheric entry through the sensible atmosphere down to heat shield separation of the Mars Science Laboratory entry vehicle. The MEDLI instrumentation suite will be installed in the heatshield of the MSL entry vehicle. The acquired data will support future Mars missions by providing measured atmospheric data to validate Mars atmosphere models and clarify the design margins on future Mars missions. MEDLI instrumentation consists of three main subsystems: MEDLI Integrated Sensor Plugs (MISP), Mars Entry Atmospheric Data System (MEADS) and the Sensor Support Electronics (SSE).
Hazard avoidance cameras
The MSL will use two pairs of navigation cameras, a front and rear stereo-pair Hazcams used for autonomous hazard avoidance during rover drives and for safe positioning of the robotic arm on rocks and soils. The cameras will use visible light to capture three-dimensional (3-D) imagery. This imagery safeguards against the rover inadvertently crashing into unexpected obstacles, and works in tandem with software that allows the rover to make its own safety choices.
Landing system
Landing a large mass on Mars is a difficult challenge: the atmosphere is thick enough to prevent rockets being used to provide significant deceleration, but too thin for parachutes and aerobraking alone to be effective. Although some previous missions have used airbags to cushion the shock of landing, the MSL is too large for this to be an option. The MSL descent will have have to employ a combination of several systems in a precise order, where the entry, descent and landing sequence will break down into four parts:
- Guided entry - The MSL will be set down on the Martian surface using a new high-precision entry, descent, and landing (EDL) system that will place it within ten kilometers of an intended target, in contrast to the 150-kilometer error of previous landing systems used on Mars. The rover is folded up within an aeroshell which protects it during the travel through space and during the atmospheric entry at Mars. Much of the reduction of the landing precision error is accomplished by an entry guidance algorithm, similar to that used by the astronauts returning to Earth in the Apollo space program. This guidance uses the lifting force experienced by the aeroshell to "fly out" any detected error in range and thereby arrive at the targeted landing site. In order for the aeroshell to have lift, its center of mass is offset from the axial centerline which results in an off-center trim angle in atmospheric flight, again similar to the Apollo Command Module. This is accomplished by a series of ejectable ballast masses. The lift vector is controlled by four sets of two Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters that produce approximately 500 N of thrust per pair. This ability to change the pointing of the direction of lift allows the spacecraft to react to the ambient environment, and steer toward the landing zone.
- Parachute descent - Like Viking, Mars Pathfinder and the Mars Exploration Rovers, the Mars Science Laboratory will be slowed by a large parachute. After the entry phase is complete and the capsule has slowed to Mach 2, a supersonic parachute is deployed. The entry vehicle must first eject the ballast mass such that the center of gravity offset is removed.
- Powered descent - Following the parachute braking, the rover and descent stage drop out of the aeroshell. The descent stage is a platform above the rover with variable thrust mono propellant hydrazine rocket thrusters on arms extending around this platform to slow the descent. Meanwhile, the rover itself is being transformed from its stowed flight configuration to a landing configuration while being lowered beneath the descent stage by the "sky crane" system.
- Sky Crane - Like a large crane on Earth, the sky crane system will lower the rover to a "soft landing" -wheels down- on the surface of Mars. This consists of 3 bridles lowering the rover itself and an umbilical cable carrying electrical signals between the descent stage and rover. At roughly 7.5 meters below the descent stage the "sky crane" system slows to a halt and the rover touches down. After the rover touches down it waits 2 seconds to confirm that it is on solid ground and fires several pyros (small explosive devices) activating cable cutters on the bridle and umbilical cords to free itself from the descent stage. The descent stage promptly flies away to a crash landing, and the rover gets ready to roam Mars. The planned "sky crane" powered descent landing system has never been used in actual missions before.
Proposed landing sites
The essential issue when selecting an optimum landing site, is to identify a particular geologic environment, or set of environments, that would support microbial life. To mitigate the risk of disappointment and ensure the greatest chance for science success, interest is placed at the greatest number of possible science objectives at a chosen landing site. Thus, a landing site with morphologic and mineralogic evidence for past water, is better than a site with just one of these criteria. Furthermore, a site with spectra indicating multiple hydrated minerals is preferred; clay minerals and sulfate salts would constitute a rich site. Hematite, other iron oxides, sulfate minerals, silicate minerals, silica, and possibly chloride minerals have all been suggested as possible substrates for fossil preservation. Indeed, all are known to facilitate the preservation of fossil morphologies and molecules on Earth. Difficult terrain is the best candidate for finding evidence of livable conditions, and engineers must be sure the rover can safely reach the site and drive within it.
The current engineering constraints call for a landing site less than 45° from the Martian equator, and less than 1 km above the reference datum. At the first MSL Landing Site workshop, 33 potential landing sites were identified. By the second workshop in late 2007, the list had grown to include almost 50 sites, and by the end of the workshop, the list was reduced to six;
in November 2008, project leaders reduced the list to four landing sites. A final workshop in April 2009 is to select a single top choice from the four potential landing sites.
Third (latest) round site list short tons).> Name | Location | | Eberswalde Crater Delta | 24°S, 327°E | | Holden Crater Fan | 26.4°S, 325.3°E | | Gale Crater | 4.6°S, 137.2°E | | Mawrth Vallis | 24°N, 341°E | |
Further reading
See also
External links
- by
- (Bruce Moomaw, Space Daily, March 9, 2005): An extensive overview of NASA's Mars exploration plans, with many details on the Mars Science Laboratory
- Demo of reported by Planetary Society.
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