Abstract
While the vast majority of ESA’s funding for Mars exploration in the 2020s is planned to be invested in ExoMars and Mars Sample Return, there is an interest to assess the possibility of implementing a small mission to Mars in parallel with, or soon after, the completion of the MSR programme. A study was undertaken in the Concurrent Design Facility at ESA ESTEC to assess low-cost mission architectures for small satellite missions to Mars. Given strict programmatic constraints, the focus of the study was on a low-cost (<250MEuro Cost at Completion), short mission development schedule with a cost-driven spacecraft design and mission architecture. The study concluded that small, low-cost Mars missions are technically feasible for launch within the decade.
Highlights
ESA’s current Mars exploration programme consists of the flying orbiters Mars Express and the ExoMars TGO, while the ExoMars rover Rosalind Franklin is planned for launch in 2022. e Nov 2019 ESA Council of Ministers meeting, Space19+, approved ESA contributions to a Mars Sample Return programme, led by NASA, with a launch of the sample retrieval missions planned to occur as early as 2026
The study identified a wide range of potential small Mars mission architectures including orbital and lander missions
It appears that small, low-cost Mars missions are technically feasible for launch within the decade. ree main themes emerged in the conclusions of the study concerning the launch scenario, required technology developments, and the mission operations
Summary
ESA’s current Mars exploration programme consists of the flying orbiters Mars Express and the ExoMars TGO, while the ExoMars rover Rosalind Franklin is planned for launch in 2022. e Nov 2019 ESA Council of Ministers meeting, Space19+, approved ESA contributions to a Mars Sample Return programme, led by NASA, with a launch of the sample retrieval missions planned to occur as early as 2026. ESA’s current Mars exploration programme consists of the flying orbiters Mars Express and the ExoMars TGO, while the ExoMars rover Rosalind Franklin is planned for launch in 2022. E Nov 2019 ESA Council of Ministers meeting, Space19+, approved ESA contributions to a Mars Sample Return programme, led by NASA, with a launch of the sample retrieval missions planned to occur as early as 2026. ESA’s primary MSR contributions include the Earth Return Orbiter as a dedicated mission, and the Sample Fetch Rover and Sample Transfer Arm of the NASA-led Sample Return Lander mission. A study was undertaken in the Concurrent Design Facility at ESA ESTEC to assess low-cost mission architectures for small satellite missions to Mars. E final report of the CDF study [6] provides further details of all the subsystem design and performance analyses carried out by the team
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