Mars Exploration Program Research Articles

Mapping “Brain Terrain” Regions on Mars Using Deep Learning

One of the main objectives of the Mars Exploration Program is to search for evidence of past or current life on the planet. To achieve this, Mars exploration has been focusing on regions that may have liquid or frozen water. A set of critical areas may have seen cycles of ice thawing in the relatively recent past in response to periodic changes in the obliquity of Mars. In this work, we use convolutional neural networks to detect surface regions containing “brain terrain,” a landform on Mars whose similarity in morphology and scale to sorted stone circles on Earth suggests that it may have formed as a consequence of freeze/thaw cycles. We use large images (∼100–1000 megapixels) from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to search for these landforms at resolutions close to a few tens of centimeters per pixel (∼25–50 cm). Over 58,000 images (∼28 TB) were searched (∼5% of the Martian surface), and we found detections in 201 images. To expedite the processing, we leverage a classifier network (prior to segmentation) in the Fourier domain that can take advantage of JPEG compression by leveraging blocks of coefficients from a discrete cosine transform in lieu of decoding the entire image at the full spatial resolution. The hybrid pipeline approach maintains ∼93% accuracy while cutting down on ∼95% of the total processing time compared to running the segmentation network at the full resolution on every image.

The role of low-cost robots in the future of spaceflight.

Lessons from the CubeSat and Mars Exploration programs may guide the infusion of robotics for planetary science and exploration.

238Pu production: a State-of-the-Art review of NpO2 target fabrication technologies and processing of irradiated targets

Abstract Space mission beyond the solar system cannot rely on photovoltaic (PV) cells as primary power source, and combinations of PV cells and batteries. For such purpose, Radioisotope Power Systems powered with 238Pu have served well for all flagship space exploration missions since the early Apollo missions until today’s Mars Exploration Program and continue to be the preferred primary energy source for future missions. 238Pu production proceeds via neutron irradiation of 237Np, which is created as a by-product in nuclear fission reactors. Neutron irradiation of 237Np to produce 238Pu is conceptually very simple, but the production of sizeable quantities of 238Pu with acceptable isotopic purity, and the further separation and processing stages pose formidable technological challenges. 238Pu is a highly radiotoxic alpha emitter with an elevated specific activity and high decay energy with high risk for the workers, and its precursor, 237Np, is a radiotoxic alpha emitter whose daughter 233Pa decays to 233U with a strong gamma emission. Furthermore, the very rich and weakly explored chemistry of Np is also a challenge. The historical 238Pu inventory of US-DOE has been highly consumed and supplies of available 238Pu to support new missions have diminished. NASA and US-DOE have started an extensive project to re-establish 238Pu production for US space missions. In Europe, ESA has also shown some interest in an European production of 238Pu for the European space missions. In the present review, the manufacture of Np targets for 238Pu production by irradiation, and the target processing are discussed and assessed from an European production perspective by comparing mainly US state-of-the-art with the European know-how and the current facilities. Two principal options for target fabrication stand out: aluminium-clad NpO2–Al CERMET and zircaloy-clad full-ceramic NpO2 targets. The principal advantages of the well documented CERMET route can be found in the irradiation stage. These targets allow a high flexibility in heavy metal loading fraction and have high thermal performance. But, they have significant drawbacks in terms of the amount and type of nuclear waste that is generated at the back-end. Instead, the full-ceramic targets are conceptually very similar to conventional nuclear fuels, and would be preferred from back-end perspective, although a demonstration of large scale production remains yet to be done. Presently, there are no operational large scale Np target production, irradiation, processing or 238Pu handling facilities in Europe, but the nuclear infrastructure exists and is operational to study each of the steps at least at small scale and all steps have similarities with well-established industrial capabilities in Europe.

Mars mission capabilities enabled by nuclear thermal propulsion

As part of the Artemis era of space exploration, space agencies will be working together with their industry partners to establish systems and infrastructure that enable sustained Lunar missions and develop capabilities for Mars. Lockheed Martin has a longstanding history of designing, building, and operating systems for deep space applications, from Viking to Orion. Lockheed Martin develops concepts, trades, and early system designs for Moon and Mars exploration to enable future missions. In 2016, Lockheed Martin presented a vision for achieving crewed exploration of Mars. Known as Mars Base Camp (MBC), this design reference mission envisioned a crewed vehicle in Martian orbit from which astronauts could perform excursions to Phobos and Deimos and perform telerobotic exploration of the Martian surface, including sample return. This concept served as an “existence proof” for a novel, practical, and affordable path to enable human exploration of the Martian system. In 2017, an update was published that included the production of propellant from water and a single-stage fully reusable Mars lander concept. Then in 2021, Lockheed Martin introduced a nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) configuration of Mars Base Camp, a technology that will be greatly enabling for crewed missions to Mars. This paper matures the design of the NTP configuration of Mars Base Camp and explores the Mars mission capabilities that the NTP technology will enable. These investigations include optimized trajectories for faster transit to Mars and an analysis of abort scenarios that are made possible by the high thrust and performance of NTP. The results provide insight into the performance and capabilities that are realized when NTP technology is matured and integrated into a Mars transit vehicle. The paper will also describe initial surface infrastructure capabilities that significantly enhance sortie science operations, including mobility and power. The resulting updated Mars Base Camp serves as an example of what is possible with current technologies and technologies under development. The MBC reference mission builds on the capabilities that will be developed and demonstrated through Artemis missions, enabling a viable, sustainable long-term Mars exploration program, with the first crewed Mars mission possible in the 2030s.

Jack Dwayne Farmer April 18, 1947-February 22, 2023.

Jack Dwayne Farmer April 18, 1947-February 22, 2023.

The Development of Emergency Communication Device for Tianwen-1 Probe

Mars is one of the most valuable planets for space exploration. After entering the entry descent and landing (EDL) phase, the spacecraft would carry out a series of procedural deceleration operations and achieve soft landing on the surface of Mars. In the process of EDL, the landing platform would encounter a series of irreversible incidents within environmental unpredictability, making this process highly risky. The emergency communication device plays an important role if in the Mars Exploration Program. It can capture and store key dynamic parameters during EDL phase, enabling a high probability of survival in the occurrence of a faulty condition. It can also send the stored data to the Mars obit probe when the communication condition is met. This paper presents a scheme design for the emergency communication device based on its functionality and performance requirements. It includes the design proposal, simulation results, reliability analysis, technical risks and control measures, inheritance and performance compliance which verifies the rationality and correctness of the design.

A Concept for a Mars Boundary Layer Sounding Balloon: Science Case, Technical Concept and Deployment Risk Analysis

The Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group has identified measurements of the state and the variability of the Martian atmosphere as high priority investigations for the upcoming years. Balloon-borne instruments could bridge the gap in both temporal and spatial resolution in mesoscale distances between local, stationary landers and global orbiter observations. The idea to use a balloon system for such a purpose is not new in essence and has been proposed already in past decades. While those concepts considered an aerial deployment during entry and descent, the concept outlined in this study revisits a launch off the payload deck of a lander from the Martian surface. This deployment option profits today mainly from the technological advance in micro-electronics and sensor miniaturization, which enables the design of a balloon-probe significantly smaller than earlier proposed systems. This paper presents the feasibility assessment for this instrument and gives further details on the scientific and operational concept, a strawman sensor suite, its system components and the associated size and budget estimates. It is complemented by the analysis scheme proposed to assess, manage and mitigate the deployment risk involved in automatically launching such a balloon-system off a planetary surface.

Launcher size optimization for a crewed Mars mission

Several proposals exist for human Mars mission architectures. An important question to resolve is to determine the most appropriate size of the launcher to minimize the costs, without compromising with risks, efficiency and future developments. Strategic choices are proposed. A fundamental choice is the direct to surface option, one that greatly simplifies the architecture of the mission and avoids a complex and costly LEO assembly of a giant vehicle. The second is aerocapture for Mars orbit insertion. The third is the choice of the EDL systems with highest TRL in order to minimize the risks of the mission and at the same time to avoid possible cost overruns due to qualification issues. Minimization is achieved for a crew of three. It is shown that an LEO capacity of the order of 100–110 tonnes is sufficient to carry out a Mars mission using 5 heavy launchers. This result is of particular interest for the countries currently developing super heavy launchers with such capacity, like the Starship and SLS in the USA, Long March 9 in China and similar developments in Russia. If Europe were also interested in the design of a super heavy launcher, it is shown here that it could be based on Vulcain or Prometheus engines. As the mission is rather simple and optimized with high TRL, the mission could be affordable. A roadmap is also suggested with appropriate preparatory missions for a human Mars exploration program.

Mars Atmospheric Characterization with a ChipSat Swarm

A mission scenario is proposed, where a large number of centimeter-scale femto-spacecraft are dispersed from a CubeSat piggyback payload on a future Mars mission. This swarm would deliver real-time massively parallel sensing throughout entry, descent, and landing with in-orbit measurements, atmospheric characterization during descent, and even surface science upon landing. Because few entry profiles exist at present for the in situ atmospheric modeling of Mars, a ChipSat swarm offers a promising tool for cost-effective atmospheric characterization that could lower risks for ongoing Mars exploration programs.

Mars Commercial Rover Payload Services

As the new decade begins, new programmatic strategies to conduct more frequent, lower cost missions are beginning to be applied to deep space robotic science missions, such as the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. These new strategies include moving from cost-plus contracts towards fixed price contracts, commercial contractors increasingly sharing in development costs, finding launch opportunities through ride sharing and comanifesting payloads, and making use of smallsats and other spacecraft with off-the-shelf hardware. While these new practices are now being applied in many areas across NASA, they are not yet being widely implemented in the Mars exploration program, where large bespoke missions have become the dominant programmatic strategy. As the decadal survey for planetary science in the 2020’s begins its deliberations, it should consider how programmatic strategies that emphasize lower cost, more frequent missions to Mars can provide groundbreaking science return and enable the beginning of a new age in Martian exploration

A Low-Pressure, N2/CO2 Atmosphere Is Suitable for Cyanobacterium-Based Life-Support Systems on Mars.

The leading space agencies aim for crewed missions to Mars in the coming decades. Among the associated challenges is the need to provide astronauts with life-support consumables and, for a Mars exploration program to be sustainable, most of those consumables should be generated on site. Research is being done to achieve this using cyanobacteria: fed from Mars's regolith and atmosphere, they would serve as a basis for biological life-support systems that rely on local materials. Efficiency will largely depend on cyanobacteria's behavior under artificial atmospheres: a compromise is needed between conditions that would be desirable from a purely engineering and logistical standpoint (by being close to conditions found on the Martian surface) and conditions that optimize cyanobacterial productivity. To help identify this compromise, we developed a low-pressure photobioreactor, dubbed Atmos, that can provide tightly regulated atmospheric conditions to nine cultivation chambers. We used it to study the effects of a 96% N2, 4% CO2 gas mixture at a total pressure of 100 hPa on Anabaena sp. PCC 7938. We showed that those atmospheric conditions (referred to as MDA-1) can support the vigorous autotrophic, diazotrophic growth of cyanobacteria. We found that MDA-1 did not prevent Anabaena sp. from using an analog of Martian regolith (MGS-1) as a nutrient source. Finally, we demonstrated that cyanobacterial biomass grown under MDA-1 could be used for feeding secondary consumers (here, the heterotrophic bacterium E. coli W). Taken as a whole, our results suggest that a mixture of gases extracted from the Martian atmosphere, brought to approximately one tenth of Earth's pressure at sea level, would be suitable for photobioreactor modules of cyanobacterium-based life-support systems. This finding could greatly enhance the viability of such systems on Mars.

Deimos rendezvous mission analysis and orbital design based on the Mars survey

Imaging the Martian surface with a sun-synchronous orbit is a fundamental task of most current Mars exploration programs. In this paper, the Mars-Deimos multi-target orbit design is carried out for a small spacecraft that uses the spacecraft’s spare spacecraft to achieve a carrier launch. Due to the 92.7° inclination of the working orbit of the main detector, Deimos detection is carried out by means of a swept intersection: The working orbit is designed for a large elliptical orbit with a critical inclination of 116.6° and a lifetime of 280 Deimos intersections. Unlike the Viking-1 orbital control, which is used to suppress arch line drift, the working track maintenance strategy designed in this paper is used only to eliminate tangential drift, and keep the consumption and frequency reducing with increasing orbital accuracy. Finally, the working orbit was analysed for its imaging, illumination and metrological/numeric transmission conditions and the spatio-temporal distribution of occult events between the small spacecraft and the main probe. Deimos imaging plan is used in the pre life descent phase, and Mars surface imaging plan is used in the post life ascent phase. The results of the analysis indicate that the full use of the carrier margin for small spacecraft launch can be carried out, for example, imaging the surface of Mars and Centaur, and covering the earth’s atmosphere with the main detector. The working orbit and orbital control strategies are designed to take into account the impact of orbital determination errors and main actuators (both short-period and long-period items, etc.) on the Deimos rendezvous, and to have engineering implementation conditions.

CanMars mission Science Team operational results: Implications for operations and the sample selection process for Mars Sample Return (MSR)

The CanMars Mars sample return (MSR) analogue mission was conducted as a field and operational test for the Mars 2020 sample cache rover mission and was the most realistic known MSR rover analogue mission to-date. A rover — similar in scale to that of rover planned for NASA's Mars 2020 mission — was deployed to a scientifically relevant Mars-analogue sedimentary field site with remote mission operations conducted at the University of Western Ontario, Canada; the mission aim was to inform on best practices and optimal approaches for sample acquisition modeled on the Mars 2020 rover mission. The daily operational procedures of the CanMars Science Team were modeled on those of current missions (i.e., Mars Science Laboratory tactical operations), serving as a study of known operational workflows and as a testbed for new approaches. This paper reports on the operational results of CanMars with best-practice recommendations. CanMars was designed as a Mars 2020 mock mission and thus carried similar science objectives; these included (1) advancing the understanding of the habitability potential of a subaqueous sedimentary environment through identifying, characterizing, and caching drilled samples containing high organic carbon (as a proxy for preserved ancient biosignatures) and (2) advancing the understanding of the history of water at the site. The in situ science investigations needed to address these science objectives were guided by the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group goals. Effective and efficient Science Team operational procedures were developed – and many lessons were documented – through daily tactical planning and science investigations employed to meet the sample acquisition goals. In addition to the documentation of the CanMars operational procedures, this paper provides a brief summary of the science results from CanMars with a focus on recommendations for future analogue missions and planetary sample return flight missions, providing specific value to operational procedures for the Mars 2020 rover mission.

NASA’s Exploration Missions to the Red Planet

The exploration missions to the red planet were started in 1960 by the Soviet Union, since then the planet has gain attention of all the scientists and explorers worldwide. Several exploration missions have been launched by the space organizations and nations to explore the Martian surface. NASA launched its first exploration mission to Mars in 1964 in the form of Mariner 3. After that, the series of robotic exploration missions have been launched to understand the red planet intensely. The Mars Exploration Program (MEP) was also formed in 1993 to explore the possibilities of the presence of life, climate and natural resources on Mars. The MEP uses the spacecraft, orbiters, landers and rovers to explore the Martian soil. As of present, NASA has launched twenty-five missions to the red planet out of which only five missions were unsuccessful. Some of the significant discoveries have been made in recent years with missions such as Pathfinder, Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, MAVEN and InSight. Currently, NASA is making plans to send more robotic explorers on the Martian soil in the upcoming years to make more discoveries and gain scientific information. These robotic missions are the first steps towards the human-crewed missions to Mars. The present paper provides a quick overview of NASA’s past, present and future robotic exploration missions to the red planet.

Methane on Mars and Habitability: Challenges and Responses.

Recent measurements of methane (CH4) by the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) now confront us with robust data that demand interpretation. Thus far, the MSL data have revealed a baseline level of CH4 (∼0.4 parts per billion by volume [ppbv]), with seasonal variations, as well as greatly enhanced spikes of CH4 with peak abundances of ∼7 ppbv. What do these CH4 revelations with drastically different abundances and temporal signatures represent in terms of interior geochemical processes, or is martian CH4 a biosignature? Discerning how CH4 generation occurs on Mars may shed light on the potential habitability of Mars. There is no evidence of life on the surface of Mars today, but microbes might reside beneath the surface. In this case, the carbon flux represented by CH4 would serve as a link between a putative subterranean biosphere on Mars and what we can measure above the surface. Alternatively, CH4 records modern geochemical activity. Here we ask the fundamental question: how active is Mars, geochemically and/or biologically? In this article, we examine geological, geochemical, and biogeochemical processes related to our overarching question. The martian atmosphere and surface are an overwhelmingly oxidizing environment, and life requires pairing of electron donors and electron acceptors, that is, redox gradients, as an essential source of energy. Therefore, a fundamental and critical question regarding the possibility of life on Mars is, “Where can we find redox gradients as energy sources for life on Mars?” Hence, regardless of the pathway that generates CH4 on Mars, the presence of CH4, a reduced species in an oxidant-rich environment, suggests the possibility of redox gradients supporting life and habitability on Mars. Recent missions such as ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter may provide mapping of the global distribution of CH4. To discriminate between abiotic and biotic sources of CH4 on Mars, future studies should use a series of diagnostic geochemical analyses, preferably performed below the ground or at the ground/atmosphere interface, including measurements of CH4 isotopes, methane/ethane ratios, H2 gas concentration, and species such as acetic acid. Advances in the fields of Mars exploration and instrumentation will be driven, augmented, and supported by an improved understanding of atmospheric chemistry and dynamics, deep subsurface biogeochemistry, astrobiology, planetary geology, and geophysics. Future Mars exploration programs will have to expand the integration of complementary areas of expertise to generate synergistic and innovative ideas to realize breakthroughs in advancing our understanding of the potential of life and habitable conditions having existed on Mars. In this spirit, we conducted a set of interdisciplinary workshops. From this series has emerged a vision of technological, theoretical, and methodological innovations to explore the martian subsurface and to enhance spatial tracking of key volatiles, such as CH4.

Preferred design and error analysis for the future dedicated deep-space Mars-SST satellite gravity mission

Because the precise measurement of the Martian gravitational field plays a significant role in the future Mars exploration program, the future dedicated Mars satellite-to-satellite tracking (Mars-SST) gravity mission in China is investigated in detail for producing the next generation of the Mars gravity field model with high accuracy. Firstly, a new semi-numerical synthetical error model of the cumulative Martian geoid height influenced by the major error sources of the space-borne instruments is precisely established and efficiently verified. Secondly, the deep space network in combination with the satellite-to-satellite tracking in the low-low (DSN-SST-LL) mode is a preferred design owing to the high precision determination of the gravity maps, the low technical complexity of the satellite system and the successful experiences with the Earth’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) projects and the lunar Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) program. Finally, the future twin Mars-SST satellites plan to adopt the optimal matching accuracy indices of the satellite-equipped sensors (e.g., $10^{-7}$ m/s in the inter-satellite range-rate from the interferometric laser ranging system (ILRS), 35 m in the orbital position tracked by the DSN and $3\times 10^{-11}$ m/s2 in the non-conservative force from the drag-free control system (DFCS)) and the preferred orbital parameters (e.g., the orbital altitude of $100\pm 50$ km and the inter-satellite range of $50\pm 10$ km).

Experimental and Numerical Characterization of the Flow Around the Mars 2020 Rover

The investigation of the environmental factors in Mars atmosphere is one of the issues of the NASA’s Mars Exploration Program about the potential for life on Mars. The future Mars 2020 rover will transport the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer dedicated to obtain meteorological data, as well as other objectives, about wind speed and direction. High-quality wind data are required to build mathematical models of the Mars climate; therefore, powerful techniques are necessary to eliminate flow perturbations produced by the rover presence. The aim of this Paper is the characterization of the flow around the Mars 2020 rover, providing a deep insight into the environmental interaction of the Mars wind with the rover. A comparative study between numerical simulations versus wind-tunnel experimental results is conducted trying to investigate the influence of the rover on the flow measured by the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer wind sensors. This study is addressed to perform an assessment of the reliability of numerical methods in the prediction of this kind of flow in Martian conditions, evaluating its capability to be used in the future to correct wind data coming from the Mars 2020 rover mission. The advancements in the numerical methods as compared with experimental results implies an advancement on the calibration methods in the space wind sensor instrumentation carried in the Mars 2020 rover.

Development and Future of China’s Deep Space TT&C System

With the implement of China's Lunar Exploration Program in three stages,which consist of orbiting,landing,and returning, China's deep space TT&C(Tracking,Telemetry and Command)system has been built up. The future Mars Exploration Program will further enhance the full capability of the system. In this paper, the development of China's deep space TT&C system is reviewed,including the details of key technology research,top design,and system construction. The future trend of this system is discussed based on the latest development of deep space TT&C technologies.

Program options to explore ocean worlds

Including Earth, roughly a dozen water ocean worlds exist in the solar system: the relict worlds Ceres and Mars, vast oceans inside most of the large Jovian and Saturnian icy moons, and Kuiper Belt Objects like Triton, Charon, and Pluto whose geologies are dominated by water and ammonia. Key pieces of the ocean-world science puzzle – which when completed may reveal whether life is widespread in the cosmos, why it exists where it does, and how it originates – are distributed among them. The eventual exploration of all these worlds will yield humanity's total tangible knowledge about life in the universe, essentially forever. Thus, their exploration has existential significance for humanity's self-regard, and indeed perhaps of our place in the natural scheme. The matter of planning how to pursue such a difficult and unprecedented exploration opportunity is therefore historic. The technical challenges are formidable, far harder than at Mars: missions to the Jovian and Saturnian ocean worlds are severely power-limited; trip times can be as much as a half decade and decade, respectively. And the science targets are global-scale oceans beneath kilometers of cryogenic ice. Reaching and exploring them would be a multi-generational undertaking, so again it is essential to plan and prepare. Today, we lack the instrumentation, subsystems, and remote operational-intelligence technologies needed to build and use exploration avatars as good as what we can envision needing.Each ocean world holds a piece of the puzzle, but the three priority targets are Europa at Jupiter, and Enceladus and Titan at Saturn. As with the systematic exploration of Mars, exploring these diverse worlds poses a complex technical and programmatic challenge – a strategic challenge – that needs to be designed and managed if each generation is to see its work bear fruit, and if the space science community is to make most effective use of the public money devoted to the quest. Strategic programs benefit from coherence. In only 15 years, the Mars Exploration Program (MEP) has transformed humanity's view of Mars as a once and future habitable place, a world quite possibly holding relict evidence of life. Finding such evidence, we would study it to know if that life shared an origin common with Earth life. However, life in the ocean worlds could not have shared our origin, so exploring them opens another level in our quest to understand life in the universe: not only to places with vast salt-water seas known to contain organics and hydrothermal seafloors active today, but to places where anything alive cannot be related to us.MEP's success – from its presence in the public consciousness to its rewriting of planetary habitability – make it an obvious template and source of lessons learned for a viable ocean worlds exploration program (OWEP). Six attributes of the MEP are analyzed for application to a potential OWEP. From this, five hypothetical programmatic scenarios are compared to the default case, and conclusions drawn. A coherent OWEP should have several parts: first, dedicated continuous investment in enabling technologies; and second, two directed-purpose, medium-class (∼$1 B) missions per decade that conduct pivotal investigations on a documented roadmap. Science could start in 2035, informing development of decadal flagship missions after Europa Clipper, to the places revealed to hold the most promise. The fastest pace of scientific discoveries would require access to high-performance propulsion infrastructure, e.g., the Space Launch System, Falcon Heavy, and high-power in-space solar electric propulsion, all capable of halving trip time. Not including these boosts, such a program would cost about a half-billion dollars more per year than NASA's existing mission portfolio; the program architecture funded today cannot deliver a strategic OWEP while also sustaining balance among other solar system exploration priorities and opportunities.Follow the Water. Yes, into the Ocean Worlds.

Erik M. Conway. Exploration and Engineering: The Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Quest for Mars. (New Series in NASA History.) viii + 405 pp., figs., app., bibl., index. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2015. $34.95 (cloth).

Erik M. Conway. <i>Exploration and Engineering: The Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Quest for Mars</i>. (New Series in NASA History.) viii + 405 pp., figs., app., bibl., index. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2015. $34.95 (cloth).