Human Mars Mission Surface Power Impacts on Timeline and Traverse Capabilities

Abstract

The National Aeronautics and Aerospace Administration's (NASA) Mars Architecture Team (MAT) developed a concept for power management operations to support a thirty-day, minimal infrastructure Mars surface mission. The surface elements in this minimal surface mission concept include three landers as platforms for surface operations, a crewed Mars ascent vehicle (MAV), an unpressurized rover, and a pressurized rover where the crew will live for the duration of the thirty-day mission. In this analysis the power system is a ten kilowatt fission power system, which has been selected for its resiliency to dust storms, and will provide power for all aspects of the surface mission including thermal management of propellant and electronic systems, communications, and battery recharge of mobile surface assets. Developing a power management plan with the consideration of the various elements and mission phases helps define the traverse and exploration capabilities for the crew in the pressurized rover. Also, considerations need to be made for the different power requirements for each phase of the surface mission including arrival, offload, surface exploration, launch preparation, and departure. The described analysis aims to achieve a balance of maintaining power to critical systems while enabling desired traverse and exploration range in the pressurized rover. Additionally, a few enhancing technologies were explored that could expand the power capability if the additional capacity is necessary in the future. This study is used as a baseline to understand the constraints on all aspects of the surface mission for a minimal surface infrastructure human Mars campaign if a ten-kilowatt fission surface power system is available on the surface.