Journey to Mars 1
Curiosity’s Journey to Mars
Our Agenda Today
• Mysterious canals
• The first spacecraft to visit
• What is life?
• Experiments on the MSL
• How do we ‘fly’ to Mars
• Landing profile
• What will we find?
• Quiz at the end…Journey to Mars 2
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1877 Giovanni Schiaparelli
What Did Schiaparelli See?
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First Images of Mars Mariner 4 Spacecraft 1965
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Mariner 9 —1971• Orbited Mars• Imaged entire planet.• A bit more earth-like
erosion patterns
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What is Mars Like?• Diameter 3,400 KM (4,200 miles)• Atmospheric pressure .9 kPa (.2” hg)
• Atmospheric composition 95% CO2
• Is there Life?
What is Life?• 1965 NASA report; “An analysis of the
Extraterrestrial Life Detection Problem,” • Established five characteristics shared by virtually
all living things. – metabolism (assimilate food… eliminate waste)– growth– reproduction – movement – irritability
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Viking 1 & 2 1976 — First Landing
Temp min mean max − 87 °C −46 °C −5 C
−122 °F −50 °F +23 °F
Viking’s Search for Life—1976
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Pyrolytic Release ExperimentGas Exchange Experiment
Inconclusive!
Previous Spacecraft
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Phoenix 2008 800 lbs Airbag-mediated Touchdown
Pathfinder/Sojourner 1997 23 lbs
Opportunity & Spirit 2004 408 lbs
Landing Sites
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Mars Science Laboratory—Curiosity Launched November 2011 Will land August 2012
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Mars Science Laboratory
• Assess if Mars ever had an environment capable of supporting microbial life.
• Determine past habitability to give scientists a better understanding if life could have existed
• If it could have existed, an idea of where to look for it...– Where should we send a “sample
and return mission”?
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Equipment
Cameras: MastCam | MAHLI | MARDI
Spectrometers: APXS | ChemCam | CheMin | SAM
Radiation Detectors: RAD | DAN
Environmental Sensors: REMS
Atmospheric Sensors: MEDLI
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Biological objectives:• Determine nature and inventory
of organic carbon compounds• Inventory chemical building
blocks of life (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous, and sulfur)
• Identify features that may represent effects of biological processes
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Geological and geochemical objectives:
• Investigate chemical, isotopic, and mineralogical composition of Martian surface geological materials
• Interpret processes that have formed and modified rocks and soils
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Planetary process objectives:• Assess long-timescale
(i.e., 4-billion-year) atmospheric evolution processes
• Determine present state, distribution, and cycling of water and carbon dioxide
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Surface radiation objective:
• Characterize broad spectrum of surface radiation, including galactic cosmic radiation, solar proton events, and secondary neutrons
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Cameras• Mast Camera (Mastcam)
– color video of Martian terrain. create panoramas of landscape around rover; view frost and weather phenomena; and support driving and sampling operations
• Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI)– close-up views of minerals, textures, and structures in rocks and surface
layer. to 12.5 micrometers, diameter of human hair.
• Mars Descent Imager (MARDI)– Following heatshield jettison produces 5-frames/sec high-res overhead
views of landing local site environment.– help planners select optimum path of exploration provide larger geologic
context surrounding landing site. determine spacecraft's precise location.
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(MEDLI Integrated Sensor Plugs)
• Spacecraft generates extreme heat during entry into the Martian atmosphere,
• MISP will measure how hot it gets at different depths in the spacecraft's heat-shield material.
• Predicted about 3X higher than the Space Shuttle
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MEADS (Mars Entry Atmospheric Data System)
• Measures atmospheric pressure on the heat shield at 7 locations during entry and descent through Mars' atmosphere.
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Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS)
• Will detect elemental composition more quickly and work both day and night.
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Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam)• From 7 meters, able to
rapidly identify rocks,• determine composition
of soils and pebbles;• measure chemical
elements, including those hazardous to humans;
• recognize ice and minerals with water molecules in their crystal structures
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Chemistry & Mineralogy X-Ray Diffraction Instrument (CheMin)
• Identify and measure abundances of minerals on Mars.
• A rotating wheel in the center of the rectangular housing carries individual rock and soil samples for chemical analysis.
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Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM)
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• Three instruments take up half science payload. • Search for compounds of carbon (i.e. methane) associated with life
• Explore ways they are generated and destroyed in the Martian ecosphere.
Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD)
• Looks skyward to measure galactic cosmic rays and solar particles that pass through the Martian atmosphere.
• Allow scientists to calculate effect radiation has on humans exposed on the surface of Mars.
• Assess hazard presented by radiation to potential microbial life, past and present,
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Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN)
• Water (liquid or frozen) absorbs neutrons more than other substances.
• DAN uses this trait to search for subsurface ice on Mars. Russian Federal Space Agency
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Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) (Russia)
• Can detect water content as low as 1/10 of 1 %• Focus neutron beam 2 meters below surface before
being absorbed by hydrogen atoms in subsurface ice.• Near the poles, scientists estimate water ice makes up
30 percent to 50 percent of shallow subsurface deposits. • If the beam encounters a layer of water ice, DAN will
detect a relatively greater number of slower neutrons • If there are no ice layers or water-logged minerals
beneath the surface, DAN will detect a relatively greater amount of faster neutrons.
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Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS-Spain)
• Provide daily reports on atmospheric pressure, humidity, ultraviolet radiation, wind speed and direction, air temperature, and ground temperature
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How do we get the MSL to
Mars?
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Atlas V Launch Vehicle 541
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1800 lbs lands on Mars
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Sun
Earth
Earth’s Rotation
Earth Orbit
Mars Orbit
Mars
Martian Orbit Compared to Earth
93 million miles
365 Day Period
66,000 mph
142 million miles
687 Day Period
53,000 mph
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Earth’s Rotation
Mars Orbit
Mars
Mars
Hohmann Transfer Orbit to Mars
Mars at Conjunction
Mars at Opposition
Sun
1
2
3
6
7
9
12
1
2
4
67
9
11
Earth
Earth Orbit
Mars
Typical transit time 9 months
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Sun
Earth
Earth’s Rotation
Earth Orbit
Mars Orbit
Mars
Relative position at time of Curiosity launch
Path of Spacecraft
Hohmann Transfer Orbit to to Mars
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Sun
Earth Orbit
Mars Orbit
Mars
Earth
Relative position at time of Curiosity Arrival at Mars
Path of Spacecraft
Hohmann Transfer Orbit to to Mars
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Where is the MSL-Curiosity now?
Gale Crater
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Landing on Mars—A Complex procedure
MSL-Curiosity Payload
Configuration
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Atmospheric Entry
(Phase I)
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Parachute (phase II)
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Powered Descent (Phase III)
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Exploring Mars… what will we find?
Some Questions
1. Why were the first photos of Mars taken from Mariner 4 in 1965 ‘disappointing’?
2. What are the five attributes of life as defined by NASA?
3. Is Curiosity looking for ‘life’?
4. What are the three distinct segments of the landing phase?
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Our Agenda Today
• Mysterious canals
• The first spacecraft to visit
• What is life?
• Experiments on the MSL
• How do we ‘fly’ to Mars
• Landing profile
• What will we find?
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The unexpected?
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I’m your new First Sergeant!
I’ll tuck you in
tonight…
…to be continued…
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What will it take for Man to travel to Mars?
• Propulsion• Spacecraft• Electrical Power• Shielding from radiation• Life support for crew of
four
• Effect of weightlessness• Mars Landing• Habitation• Exploration• Return• Reentry to Earth’s
Atmosphere
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Sun
Earth
Earth’s Rotation
Earth Orbit
Mars Orbit
Mars
Mars
EarthRelative position at time of Curiosity launch
Relative position at time of Curiosity Arrival at Mars
Path of Spacecraft
Hohmann Transfer Orbit to to Mars
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• Temperature min mean max
− 87 °C −46 °C −5 °C
−122 °F −50 °F +23 °F
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