Mars Surface Operations Research Articles

Development of a NASA roadmap for planetary protection to prepare for the first human missions to Mars

As part of planning for future space exploration, COSPAR (The Committee on Space Research) together with participating space agencies, organized and held interdisciplinary meetings to consider next steps in addressing knowledge gaps for planetary protection for future human missions to Mars. Beginning with the results of these meetings and earlier work by NASA, ESA, and COSPAR (e.g., Criswell et al., 2005; Hogan et al., 2006; Rummel et al., 2008) as a base the authors of this paper carried out a follow-on NASA planning activity to identify the necessary steps to be accomplished to close knowledge gaps. We identified significant overlap between the planetary protection needs and other sets of Mars preparation roadmaps (1) microbial monitoring requirements for crew health and medical systems, (2) studies of the microbiome of the built environment, (3) environmental control and life support systems (ECLSS), (4) waste management, and (5) planetary surface operations. In many cases, efforts to mature exploration class systems for Mars that are occurring in other domains can be leveraged with minor changes to address planetary protection gaps as well. In other cases, work planned for testing on the International Space Station (ISS) as an analog for crew Mars transit, or on the lunar surface as an analog for Mars surface operations can be used to close planetary protection technology and knowledge gaps. An overall strategic framework that combines these domains has the advantage of being more comprehensive, efficient, and timely for closing gaps.This approach has led to the development of a NASA roadmap for addressing planetary protection integrated with other related roadmaps. NASA's development and execution of the planetary protection is now viewed in an integrated way with related technology development and testing. Key features of the integrated capabilities roadmap include:•A focus on microbial monitoring needs for crewed systems overall, and the additional work needed to develop and demonstrate baseline vs. abnormal changes in microbial communities over time.•Integrated consideration of planetary protection and crew health requirements relevant to crew quarantine and science sample transportation.•Specific and targeted studies of microbial growth and biofilms in microgravity and lunar surface ECLSS systems.•Development of sterilization, cleaning, and waste handling technologies that meet habitation needs as well as planetary protection needs.

Enabling innovative research on the International Space Station to solve the challenges of a human mission to Mars: Results of the ISS4Mars international workshops 2020–2021

During the ISS4Mars workshops in 2020–2021, personnel from the International Space Station (ISS) partner agencies convened to reflect on scenarios for how the ISS could be used and its operations possibly modified to simulate aspects of a human mission to Mars. Scientific leaders, operations experts, crewmembers, managers, and flight surgeons discussed the five hazards of human spaceflight—gravity transitions, radiation, isolation and confinement, distance from Earth, and hostile closed environments—and considered how an ISS-based analog of Mars transit could benefit assessments and mitigations of these hazards. A focused writing team then discussed the advantages and disadvantages of each approach identified by the workshop participants before developing a set of eight use cases to consider the feasibility of implementing on the ISS. The writing team also identified the prerequisites needed, including ground analog studies simulating a mission to Mars required to verify measurements and procedures, before testing could begin on the ISS. Five of the use cases were considered feasible to assess in simulations using an ISS-based analog of Mars transit if some ground rules and assumptions were met. These five use cases were Earth-independent medical operations, Earth-independent integrated operations, life support and food for a one year duration, lower-body negative pressure as a countermeasure against the effects of exposure to microgravity, and fitness levels after landing. In addition, three more extensive interventions—extended Mars surface operations, a small-volume transit analog, and artificial gravity—were deemed unfeasible for testing on the ISS. Experience gained from the five use cases executed on the ISS may help answer some of the questions in the deferred scenarios, or it may be possible to complete them on another platform (e.g. commercial space station, lunar habitat). Simulating conditions during a Mars mission on the ISS will afford higher fidelity for assessing multiple integrated hazards of human spaceflight, however, ground analogs of Mars missions can be used to ensure effective measures and experimental design before testing begins on the ISS. The strategic concepts refined as part of these workshops were brought to a multilateral forum, Mulitlateral Human Research Planel for Exploration (MHRPE), where ISS partner agencies are now discussing implementation plans to provide new opportunities to use the ISS to prepare for deep space exploration over the coming decade. In this publication we present a summary of the international strategic plans for future research that will enable operations, software, and countermeasures to be developed that will reduce the risk to humans during future crewed missions to Mars.

An instrument design for non-contact detection of biomolecules and minerals on Mars using fluorescence.

We discuss fluorescence as a method to detect polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other organic molecules, as well as minerals on the surface of Mars. We present an instrument design that is adapted from the ChemCam instrument which is currently on the Mars Science Lander Rover Curiosity and thus most of the primary components are currently flight qualified for Mars surface operations, significantly reducing development costs. The major change compared to ChemCam is the frequency multipliers of the 1064 nm laser to wavelengths suitable for fluorescence excitation (266 nm, 355 nm, and 532 nm). We present fluorescence spectrum for a variety of organics and minerals relevant to the surface of Mars. Preliminary results show minerals already known on Mars, such as perchlorate, fluoresce strongest when excited by 355 nm. Also we demonstrate that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, such as those present in Martian meteorites, are highly fluorescent at wavelengths in the ultraviolet (266 nm, 355 nm), but not as much in the visible (532 nm). We conclude that fluorescence can be an important method for Mars applications and standoff detection of organics and minerals. The instrument approach described in this paper builds on existing hardware and offers high scientific return for minimal cost for future missions.

2.4.2 Incorporating Software Cost and Risk Assessment into Early System Development Trade Studies

AbstractThis paper introduces a new method called SOCRATES (Software Cost and Risk Assessment for Trade and Engineering Studies) for incorporating software cost and risk assessment into the early concept development activities and trade studies typically conducted for complex systems. Early conceptual architecture trade studies often omit software cost and risk in architectural comparisons. However, the increasing importance of software in complex system design and its impact on project risk necessitates consideration of the cost and risk associated with developing and fielding software in early engineering architectural trade studies. SOCRATES takes into consideration the allocation of functionality to both software and human controllers and evaluates the utility of assigning control based on development cost, development risk, and mission risk. It also provides input to system engineers about the relative comparison of the cost and risk for a variety of system architecture concepts as well as recommendations based on the results. The technique is demonstrated on the Lunar and Mars Transportation and Surface Operations Architectures developed for the NASA Exploration Initiative Concept Exploration and Refinement Study.

Environmental Test Program for the Mars Exploration Rover Project

On June 10 and July 7, 2003, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched two spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Florida, for 6-month flights to the Red Planet, Mars. The two Mars Exploration Rover spacecraft landed safely on the planet on January 3 and 24, 2004. Prior to the successful launch, both of the spacecraft were involved in a comprehensive test campaign that included development, qualification, and protoflight test programs. Testing was performed to simulate the environments associated with launch, interplanetary cruise, landing on the planet, and Mars surface operations. Unique test requirements included operating the spacecraft while the chamber pressure was controlled to simulate the descent to the planet from deep space, high-impact landing loads, and rover operations on the surface of the planet at 8 Torr and -130 °C (-202 °F). This paper will present an overview of the test program that included vibration, pyroshock, landing loads, acoustic noise, thermal-vacuum, and solar simulation testing at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Environmental Test Laboratory facilities in Pasadena, California.

Working the Martian night shift - the MER surface operations process

The Mars exploration rover mission has conducted continuous Mars surface operations for over 24 months to date. The operations processes and tools put in place before landing have continued to develop throughout the surface mission, evolving from a capability intended to operate for less than four months to one capable of continuing indefinitely. The MER operations design has been accepted as baseline for the Mars Science Laboratory mission, scheduled for launch in 2009. Our experiences during MER's exciting and unexpectedly extensive surface exploration phase may provide useful insights for other future long duration surface missions

Materials for Thermal Control for Mars Surface Operations

AbstractThe thermal environment for Mars surface exploration provides unique challenges for materials for use in structure and thermal control. The Sojourner Mars Rover has a lightweight integrated structure/insulation that has been environmentally tested and qualified for the Pathfinder mission to Mars. The basic structure with insulation, called the Warm Electronics Box (WEB), accounts for only 10% of the total Rover mass. The WEB is a thermal isolating composite structure with co-cured thermal control surfaces and an ultra-lightweight hydrophobic solid silica aerogel which minimizes conduction and radiation. This design provides excellent thermal insulation at low gas pressures and meets the structural requirements for spacecraft launch loads and for a 60 g impact landing at Mars without damage to the insulation or structure. Since the Pathfinder mission, this basic design concept has been developed and improved for future Mars surface robotic missions.