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MSL launch has been delayed to at least 2011
NASA’s Mars Exploration Program
Strategy: Follow the water, assess habitability, return asample, prepare for humans
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Types of Mars Missions
Orbital Missions
Instruments stay in orbit around Mars
Missions include:
Mariner, Viking Orbiters, Mars Global Surveyor (MGS),
Mars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)
Surface Missions
Instruments on lander or rover
Missions include:
Viking Landers (1 and 2)
Mars Pathfinder (rover)
Mars Exploration Rovers
MER- A Spirit
MER-B Opportunity
Phoenix (lander)3
Locations of successful landed missions
Phoenix
Viking 1
Viking 2
Pathfinder
MER B
OpportunityMER A
Spirit
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Guiding Principles
Landing site selection is critical to all aspects of mission and program success No landing, no science
Final site recommendation, selection, and approval is the job of the Project, Science Team, and NASA headquarters
The broad expertise of the science community is crucial to the identification of optimal sites
Process can be open to all and has no predetermined outcome
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Basis for Site Selection
Landing Sites Must Meet All Engineering Requirements
Engineering requirements can include:
Latitude of landing site
Elevation of landing site
Size of landing ellipse
Slope of landing site surface
Rock abundance at the landing site
Wind speed at the landing site
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Engineering Requirements
Latitude
The latitude of a landing site is generally constrained by the lander’s energy source or science goals
Some missions have a power constraint Solar powered landers need more
direct sunlight
MER was constrained to a latitude band of 10°N to15°S
MSL has a wide latitude band of ±60° because it is not solar powered
Phoenix was designed for polar science latitude band was 65-72°N
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Engineering Requirements
Elevation
The elevation restrictions of a landing site depend upon the method of landing
MSL can land at elevations up to +2.0 km
Provides access to ~83% of Mars
Includes most of the highlands
VL1, 2 & MPF had to land below <-3 km
Only options are in the Northern Lowlands
MER landing site elevations had to be <-1.3 km
Parachute landings require low elevations so that there is more atmosphere to reduce velocity
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MSL Landing Site Access
Maps show -90º to 90º latitude; 180º to -180º W longitude; horizontal lines at 60º latitude; blacked out areas are > 2km elevation
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Engineering Requirements
Rock abundance
The size and quantity of rocks at a landing site is very important to quantify
Could damage the lander/rover upon landing
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Viking 2 landing site
Rejected Phoenix landing site
Engineering Requirements
Slope
Landing site can not be too steep or else the lander/rover will not be able to land safely
Wind Speed
Some regions of Mars are extremely windy
High winds could push the lander/rover into an unsafe area during landing
Unsafe areas could include cliffs, craters, extremely rocky regions, etc.
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Engineering Requirements
Landing Ellipse Size The ideal landing site, plus an
allowance for error, defines the landing ellipse
Size of the landing ellipse depends upon the landing method, e.g., Parachute w/ airbag
Reverse thrusters
Sky crane
Goal is to land in the center of the ellipse but any other area within the ellipse needs to be safe Low slope
Smooth
Not too windy
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Artist rendering of sky crane for MSL
Artist rendering of airbag system used for the MERs
Engineering Requirements
Ellipse Size Number of possible landing sites scales with ellipse size
Beagle (Length 500 km = 1 Site)
MPF (Length 200-300 km = <10 Sites)
MER (Length ~100 km = ~150 Sites)
MSL has a small ~20 km diameter ellipse
Allows 103 to 109 potential sites plus “Go To” ability Can traverse out of the landing ellipse to any area of interest
Future Missions Could Have Different Constraints….
MER-A Spirit
Landing Ellipse 13
Basis for Site Selection
Potential Landing Sites Must Also Meet Science Requirements
To determine if a site meets the science requirements we must be able to: Characterize the geology of the region of interest
Assess the relative age compared to other regions of the planet
Assess biological potential
Morphology consistent with water-related activity
Geochemistry/mineralogy
Characterize climate history at region of interest
The role of water
Surface/atmosphere interaction
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15Image credit: NASA/JPL/JHUAPL/MSSS/Brown University.
A color-enhanced image of the delta in Jezero Crater
Once held a lake
Ancient rivers
ferried minerals
into the lakeClay-like minerals
are shown in green
Form the delta
Clays tend to trap and preserve organic matterDelta thus a good place to look for signs of ancient life on
Mars
Example of water related geomorphology
Basis for Site Selection
Engineering and science constraints aremapped into potential landing sites on Mars Use available remote sensing data
New orbital data of can be acquired MSL sites have priority in the scheduling of MRO targets
All potential landing sites must be defendable Must survive multiple reviews, so be thorough
Do everything to understand surface properties
Factor mission science objectives into selection
Selection must be done openly Multiple opportunities for community involvement
Open workshops Provide science community input to landing site
Also educational opportunities & public outreach 16
Planetary Protection Requirements
There is a Planetary Protection Office Landing sites must comply with guidelines
Must not have known water or water-ice within one meter of the surface
Some regions are special exceptions
Purpose of the Phoenix mission was to sample water ice It had to be allowed to land in a water-rich area
Robotic arm was sterilized and wrapped in bio-barrier
There are areas interpreted to have a high potential for the existence of native martian life forms Missions looking for life would have to be allowed to
land there
Unfortunately, this also where terrestrial organisms are likely to propagate
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Phoenix arm bio-barrier
Phoenix robotic arm in lab
Scientific Objective of MSL
Explore and quantitatively assess
a local region on Mars’ surface as
a potential habitat for life, past or
present
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Scientific Objective of MSL
• Assessment of present habitability requires:
An evaluation of the characteristics of the
environment and the processes that influence it from
microscopic to regional scales
A comparison of these characteristics with what is
known about the capacity of life, as we know it, to
exist in such environments
Assessment of past habitability also requires
inferring environments and processes in the past
from observation in the present
Requires integration of a wide variety of chemical,
physical, and geological measurements and analyses22
Scientific Objectives for MSL
Explore and quantitatively assess a local region on Mars’ surface as a potential
habitat for life, past or present.
Assess the biological potential of at least one
target environment.
Determine the nature and inventory of organic carbon
compounds
Inventory the chemical building blocks of life (C, H, N,
O, P, S)
Identify features that may represent the effects of
biological processes
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Scientific Objectives for MSL
Explore and quantitatively assess a local region on Mars’ surface as a potential
habitat for life, past or present.
Characterize the geology and geochemistry of the
landing region at all appropriate spatial scales
(i.e., ranging from micrometers to kilometers)
Investigate the chemical, isotopic, and mineralogical
composition of martian surface and near-surface
geological materials
Interpret the processes that have formed and modified
rocks and regolith
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Scientific Objectives for MSL
Explore and quantitatively assess a local region on Mars’ surface as a potential
habitat for life, past or present.
Investigate planetary processes of relevance to
past habitability, including the role of water
Assess long-timescale (i.e., 4-billion-year)
atmospheric evolution processes
Determine present state, distribution, and cycling of
water and CO2
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Scientific Objectives for MSL
Explore and quantitatively assess a local region on Mars’ surface as a potential
habitat for life, past or present.
Characterize the broad spectrum of surface
radiation,
Galactic cosmic radiation
Solar proton events
Secondary neutrons
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Scientific Investigations Overview
Remote Sensing MastCam imaging, atmospheric opacity
ChemCam chemical composition, imaging
Contact APXS chemical composition
MAHLI microscopic imaging
Analytic Laboratory SAM chemical and isotopic composition,
including organic molecules
CheMin mineralogy, chemical composition
Environmental DAN subsurface hydrogen
MARDI landing site descent imaging
REMS meteorology / UV radiation
RAD high-energy radiation
Total 10
• MSL also carries a sophisticated sample acquisition, processing and handling system.
• >120 investigators and collaborators.
• Significant international participation: Spain, Russia, Germany, Canada, France, Finland.
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Summary: Investigations vs. Objectives
• Each objective addressed by multiple investigations; each investigation
addresses multiple objectives; provides robustness and reduces risk.
Objective:Mast-
Cam
Chem-
CamMAHLI APXS SAM
Che-
MinMARDI DAN REMS RAD
Determine the nature and inventory of
organic carbon compounds.+ ++ +
Inventory the chemical building blocks of life (C, H, N, O, P, S). ++ ++ ++ ++ +
Identify features that may represent the
effects of biological processes.+ ++ + ++ +
Investigate the chemical, isotopic, and
mineralogical composition of the Martian
surface and near-surface geologic
materials.
+ ++ + ++ ++ ++ +
Interpret the processes that have formed
and modified rocks and regolith.++ + ++ + + ++ + + +
Assess long-time scale atmospheric
evolution processes.+ + + ++ + +
Determine present state, distribution, and
cycling of water and CO2.+ + + + ++ ++ +
Characterize the broad spectrum of
surface radiation, including galactic
cosmic radiation, solar proton events, and
secondary neutrons.
+ + ++
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LANDING SITES PROPOSED TO FIRST MSL WORKSHOP
NAME LOCATION ELEVATION TARGET PROPOSER
Gale Crater 4.6 S, 137.2 E -4.5 km Interior Layered Deposits J. Bell, N. Bridges
Eberswalde Crater 24.0 S, 326.3 E -0.8 and -0.4 km Delta J. Schieber, J. Dickson
Eberswalde Crater 23.8 S,326.7 E -1.48 km Delta J. Rice
Candor Chasma Various -4 to +3 km Sulfate Deposits N. Mangold
Melas Chasma 9.8 S, 283.6 E -1.9 km Paleolake C. Quantin
E. Melas Chasma 11.62 S, 290.45 E Below-2 km Interior Layered Deposits M. Chojnacki
Aram Chaos 2.5 N, 338 E -1.6 to -3.8 km Hematite N. Cabrol
Iani Chaos 2 S , ~342 E Below -2 km Hematite, Sulfate T. Glotch
W. Meridiani 7.5ºN, 354ºE ~-1 to -1.5 km Layered Sediments A. Howard
N. Sinus Meridiani 5.6 N, 358 E ~-1.5 km Crater lake sediments L. Posiolova
E. Meridiani 0 , 3.7 E ~-1.3 km Sedimentary Layers B. Hynek
E. Meridiani 1.8 S, 7.6 E ~-1.0 to -1.5 km Sediments, Hematite H. Newsom
W. Arabia 8.9 N, 358.8 E -1.2 km Sedimentary Rocks E. Heydari
SW Arabia Terra 2-12 N, 355-348 E -1 km Sed. Rocks, Methane C. Allen
Becquerel Crater 21.8 N, 351 E -2.6 to -3.8 kmLayered Sedimentary
RocksJ. C. Bridges
Terby Crater 28 S, 73 E -5 km Layers in crater T. Parker
Terby Crater 28˚S, 74 E -5 km Light-toned Outcrops Z. Noe Dobrea
Terby Crater 28 S, 73 E -5 km Layered Material S. Wilson
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LANDING SITES PROPOSED TO FIRST MSL WORKSHOP
NAME LOCATION ELEVATION TARGET PROPOSER
S. Holden Crater ~26.4ºS, 325.3ºE -2.25 km Lacustrine Layers M. Malin
Holden Crater 26.4ºS, 325.3ºE -2.3 km Layered Materials R. Irwin, J. Grant
Holden Crater 26.1ºS, 326ºE -2.2 km Layered Materials J. Rice
Palos Crater 2.7ºS, 110.8ºE -0.75 km Layered Materials J. Rice
Argyre 56.8ºS, 317.7ºE -1.5 km Glacial Features J. Kargel
S. Hemisphere 49 S, 14 E Above -0.5 km Recent Climate Deposits M. Kreslavsky
Hale Crater 35.7 S, 323.4 E –2.4 km Gullies W. E. Dietrich
Wirtz Crater 48.6 S, 334 E 0.6 km Gullies W. E. Dietrich
Athabasca Vallis 10N, ?ºE -2.4 km Cerberus Rupes Deposits D. Burr
Nili Fossae Crater 18.4ºN, 77.68ºE -2.6 km Valley Networks, layers J. Rice
NE Syrtis Major ~10ºN, ~70ºE ~0.5 to 1.5 km Volcanics R. Harvey
Margaritifer basin 12.77ºS, 338.1ºE -2.12 km Fluvial Deposits K. Williams
Margaritifer basin 11.54ºS, 337.3ºE -2.535 km Fluvial Deposits K. Williams
Avernus Colles 1.0ºS, 169.5ºE Below -2 km High iron abundance L. Crumpler
Dao Vallis 40ºS, 85ºE Below -2 km A major valley L. Crumpler
Isidis Basin floor 5-15ºN, 80-95ºE Below -2 km Volatile sink L. Crumpler
Hypanis Vallis 11ºN, 314ºE Below -2 km Delta L. Crumpler
NW Slope Valleys Various Above 0 km? Flood Features J. Dohm
Nili Fossae ~22ºN, ~75ºE -0.6 km Phyllosilicates J. Mustard
Marwth Vallis 22.3ºN, 343.5ºE ~-2 km Phyllosilicates J-P Bibring
Juventae Chasma 5 S, 297 E -2 km Layered Sulfates J. Grotzinger30
Remaining MSL Landing Sites
• Holden Crater
• Mawrth Vallis
• Eberswalde Crater
• Gale Crater
• Northeast Syrtis
• East Margaritifer
FRT C1D1 31
Delta with phyllosilicates
Remaining MSL Landing Sites
• Holden Crater
• Mawrth Vallis
• Eberswalde Crater
• Gale Crater
• Northeast Syrtis
• East Margaritifer
FRT 89F7 32
Extensive layered phyllosilicates
Remaining MSL Landing Sites
• Holden Crater
• Mawrth Vallis
• Eberswalde Crater
• Gale Crater
• Northeast Syrtis
• East Margaritifer
FRT BA45 33
Delta with phyllosilicates
Remaining MSL Landing Sites
• Holden Crater
• Mawrth Vallis
• Eberswalde Crater
• Gale Crater
• Northeast Syrtis
• East Margaritifer
FRT BA45 34
Giant stack of layered materials with sulfates and phyllosilicates
Remaining MSL Landing Sites
• Holden Crater
• Mawrth Vallis
• Eberswalde Crater
• Gale Crater
• Northeast Syrtis
• East Margaritifer
Center Location 17.808 N, 77.076 ECenter elevation: -
2033 m
FRT 161EF 35
Carbonates and phyllosilicates in possible fluvial environment
Remaining MSL Landing Sites
• Holden Crater
• Mawrth Vallis
• Eberswalde Crater
• Gale Crater
• Northeast Syrtis
• East Margaritifer
FRT 9ACE 36
Chlorides and phyllosilicates
Where would you go?
Pick future landing (or human settlement) sites
Use MSL engineering constraints to find other
interesting place on Mars that might make good
future landing sites
Use CRISM spectral data to find:
Regions of interesting mineralogy
Signs of past water
Areas of potential habitibility
Can incorporate other data sets
HiRISE 37
Next Week’s Meeting
Next week we will give a
detailed description of
the potential MSL landing
site at Mawrth Vallis
There will be a 30 minute
Q&A session afterward
If you’ve had a chance to
look at any areas, bring us
some data and ask our
opinion!
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Perspective view of proposed Mawrth Vallis landing site, created using
Mars Express, MOLA, MDM and THEMIS data
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