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Flight Reconstruction of the Mars Pathfinder Disk-Gap-Band Parachute Drag Coefficient

Author:
Schofield, John T.
Published:
[2003].
Physical Description:
1 electronic document
Additional Creators:
Lisano, Michael E. and Desai, Prasun
Online Version

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Summary:
On July 4, 1997, the Mars Pathfinder (MPF) mission successfully landed on Mars. The entry, descent, and landing (EDL) scenario employed the use of a Disk-Gap-Band parachute design to decelerate the Lander. Flight reconstruction of the entry using MPF flight accelerometer data revealed that the MPF parachute decelerated faster than predicted. In the summer of 2003, the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission will send two Landers to the surface of Mars arriving in January 2004. The MER mission utilizes a similar EDL scenario and parachute design as that employed by MPF. As a result, characterizing the degree of underperformance of the MPF parachute system is critical for the MER EDL trajectory design. This paper provides an overview of the methodology utilized to estimate the MPF parachute drag coefficient as experienced on Mars.
Other Subject(s):
Collection:
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) Collection.
Note:
Document ID: 20040085794.
AIAA Paper 2003-2126.
17th AIAA Aerodynamic Decelerator Systems Technology Conference and Seminar; 19-22 May 2003; Monterey, CA; United States.
Terms of Use and Reproduction:
No Copyright.
View MARC record | catkey: 15635425