yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (02/05/89)
Mary Sandy Headquarters, Washington, D.C. January 30, 1989 Donald James Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif. EDITORS NOTE: NASA WORKSHOP TO EXAMINE MARS MISSION TECHNOLOGY NASA studies of future solar system exploration include options for both piloted and robotic missions to Mars. One challenge to future Mars exploration is to use the the martian and Earth's atmospheres to slow the vehicles while protecting them from the searing temperatures encountered during atmospheric entry. This slowing process is now achieved in part through the use of rocket engine firings. NASA is investigating a new technology called high-energy aerobraking which would allow spacecraft to be slowed on atmospheric entry without having to use rocket engines. The new technology would use an aerobrake -- a structure whose large blunt shape would slow the vehicle through friction with the atmosphere. Currently, interplanetary spacecraft necessarily carry the weight of the rockets and their propellants throughout its entire mission. The use of high-energy aerobraking would permit the weight and space, now dedicated to rockets and propellants, to be used by astronauts or for additional science payloads. Aerobraking also could be used on returning from lunar missions. Scientists and engineers from NASA, private industry and universities will meet at NASA's Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif., Jan. 31 through Feb. 2, for a workshop on high- energy aerobraking. The workshop will highlight current and planned aerobraking research efforts. Limited aerobraking experience exists upon which to base these future designs.