Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the - Solar System ...

Technology development was found to be required for the rover LIDAR, the drill and sample acquisition
system, the RPS, and terrain relative navigation.
Additional identified risks to the mission include: drill performance; thermal environment
effects; high thrust-to-weight bi-propellant thruster qualification; soft landing precision guidance,
navigation, and control; low mass and power avionics development; availability of plutonium-238, and
battery mission-mass growth.
Conclusions
A lunar polar volatiles mission represents an important opportunity to study the nature,
composition and dynamics of volatiles trapped in the frigid interiors of lunar polar impact craters. It also
provides an opportunity to investigate polar volatiles, especially water ice, as a potential resource for
future human exploration of the Moon and destinations beyond. Although such a mission retains a high
science value, the polar crater environment presents a number of technical challenges, including rover
survivability, sample collection and characterization, and navigation. Although some technical maturation
is required, there remain no major impediments to such a mission within this decade.
MARS SKY CRANE CAPABILITIES
A capabilities study performed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Overview
The purpose of this special study was not focused on a mission but to explore the full range of
science capabilities that could be delivered to the surface of Mars by a Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)derived
Sky Crane entry, descent, and landing system. Of particular interest were options to address
pathways to three broad classes of surface science and the differences between delivering mobile and
fixed systems. In addition, the study investigated the potential capabilities of the Sky Crane with respect
to landing ellipse, landing altitude, and landed mass. Special attention was paid to options for the 2018
launch opportunity.
Surface Science Pathways
• Surface Fieldwork - Astrobiology/Geology Pathway emphasized the geological and
geophysical evolution of Mars; the history of its volatiles and climate; the nature of the surface and
subsurface environments, now and in the past; the temporal and geographic distribution of liquid water;
and the availability of other resources (e.g., energy) necessary to sustain life.
• Access to the Subsurface - Geology/Astrobiology Pathway emphasized conducting several
experiments (including subsurface sampling) at sites where records of recent climate, geologic processes,
and organic molecules might well be preserved and accessible in the near subsurface.
• Network Science Pathway emphasized strategies for deployment of network investigations
using seismological and meteorological measurement methods to study both the Martian atmosphere and
subsurface characteristics.
PREPUBLICATION COPY—SUBJECT TO FURTHER EDITORIAL CORRECTION
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