Co-Delivery of a Martian Probe Network

Abstract

Motivated by a need for lower-cost planetary science missions to Mars, this study considers the problem of co-delivering a network of small rough landers to the Martian surface such that the probes are placed on different entry trajectories by a single carrier spacecraft without requiring translational maneuvers between probe deployments. The Small High Impact Energy Landing Device is used as a reference design, and a flight-mechanics analysis is performed to ensure requirements are met under the influence of relevant uncertainties. A linearized targeting method is developed and applied to design probe jettison velocities for a regional probe network. Monte Carlo analysis shows that a regional network approximately 100 km in scale could be passively co-delivered with limited deformation of the network shape despite the influence of relevant uncertainties, and linearized targeting errors are quantified. Nonlinear numerical optimization is applied and enables the design of probe jettisons for co-delivery of larger-scale networks. Additional Monte Carlo analyses quantify the rate at which delivery error increases with network scale.