meetings - Space Flight Mechanics Committee

9:00 AAS Preliminary Trajectory Reconstruction Results of the Mars Science
13-306 Laboratory Entry Vehicle
Mark Schoenenberger, NASA Langley Research Center
On August 5th 2012, the Mars Science Laboratory entry vehicle entered Mars’ atmosphere,
flying a guided entry until parachute deploy. The Curiosity rover completed the entry
sequence and landed safely in Gale crater. This paper compares the aerodynamics of the
entry capsule extracted from onboard flight data, including Inertial Measurement Unit
(IMU) accelerometer and rate gyro information, and heatshield surface pressure
measurements. From the onboard data, static aerodynamic force and moment coefficients
have been extracted. These data are compared to preflight predictions. The comparisons
show the MSL aerodynamic characteristics have been identified to uncertainties smaller
than used for preflight simulations.
9:20 AAS Preliminary Statistical Trajectory, Atmosphere, and Aerodynamic
13-309 Reconstruction of the MSL Entry, Descent, and Landing
Soumyo Dutta, Georgia Institute of Technology; Robert Braun, Georgia Institute of
Technology
9:40 Break
On August 6, 2012, the Mars Science Laboratory landed the largest payload on Mars using
the largest aeroshell and supersonic parachute and an innovative Sky Crane. The aeroshell
was instrumented with pressure transducers that allowed for the reconstruction of the
vehicle's pressure distribution and freestream atmospheric conditions through hypersonic
and supersonic flight regime. This paper shows preliminary results of the vehicle's
trajectory, atmosphere, and aerodynamic coefficient reconstruction using statistical
estimation methods, like extended and unscented Kalman filters, and data from the onboard
inertial measurement unit, terminal descent radar altimeter, and the pressure sensors.
10:05 AAS The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Entry, Descent, and Landing
13-310 Instrumentation (MEDLI) Hardware
Michelle Munk, NASA Langley Research Center
The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Entry, Descent and Landing Instrumentation
(MEDLI) hardware was a first-of-its-kind sensor system that gathered engineering data
from the MSL heatshield during Mars entry on August 6, 2012. MEDLI measured pressure
and temperature, each at seven discrete locations determined by aerodynamicists and
aerothermodynamicists. We will present a pictorial history, description of the MEDLI
hardware, and its requirements, to provide context for the MEDLI performance and MSL
reconstruction papers contained in the session.
10:25 AAS A Reconstruction of Aerothermal Environment and Thermal Protection
13-311 System Response of the Mars Science Laboratory Entry Vehicle
Deepak Bose, NASA Ames Research Center; Todd White, ERC, Inc.; Jose Santos,
Jacobs Technology, Inc.; Milad Mahzari, Georgia Institute of Technology; Karl
Edquist, NASA Langley Research Center
23 rd AAS / AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting Page 51