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.