Changing the paradigm GSFC's Role in the MAVEN mission to Mars lessons learned from the MAVEN MOS/GDS effort

Abstract

The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN Mission (MAVEN), successfully launched 18 November 2013, will explore the planet's upper atmosphere, ionosphere and interactions with the sun and solar wind. One of MAVEN's unique circumstances is the fact that it is a Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) flight project. Despite being an international leader in Earth and Space Science Missions, and providing instruments for planetary missions, GSFC has not had the project office in the development of planetary missions. Until the selection of MAVEN as NASA's second Mars Scout, the GSFC Flight Projects Directorate had not had full management responsibility for the development of an entire Mars mission. This paper will focus on the dovetailing of the Spacecraft (SIC) Team's and GSFC's approach to Requirements Management, Verification & Validation, (V&V) and the Ground and Operations test programs. As the MAVEN development progressed, the GSFCbased MAVEN project Mission Operations and Ground Data System (MOS/GDS) team quickly realized that a different paradigm was needed. GSFC's approach used on Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) Earth Science missions, GSFC's predominant background and experience, did not lend itself to the MAVEN mission. Instead, the SIC team brought the planetary mission approach to the project as the subject matter experts for Mars missions. From their previous experience on Mars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), and the Jovian Juno mission, heritage runs deep on MAVEN. Heritage provides a simplified and cost-effective approach, but not without its pitfalls. Early feedback from the review cycle highlighted the need to collaborate on the implementation. Synergy was needed between GSFC standards, GOLD Rules, NASA standards and expectations, and the established planetary mission heritage, experience and processes. The MAVEN project needed to find a new model. Through collaboration, the MOSIGDS Team and the Spacecraft (SIC) Team adapted resources to work within the heritage framework while addressing the new expectations. The project level V & V plan was reworked, the test program modified, and the processes updated to meet the project needs.