Entry Descent and Landing Challenges of Human Mars Exploration

Abstract

Near-term capabilities for robotic spacecraft include a target of landing 1 - 2 metric ton payloads with a precision of about 10 kilometers, at moderate altitude landing sites (as high as +2 km MOLA). While challenging, these capabilities are modest in comparison to the requirements for landing human crews on Mars. Human Mars exploration studies imply the capability to safely land 40 - 80 metric ton payloads with a precision of tens of meters, possibly at even higher altitudes. New entry, descent and landing challenges imposed by the large mass requirements of human Mars exploration include: (1) the potential need for aerocapture prior to entry, descent and landing and associated thermal protection strategies, (2) large aeroshell diameter requirements, (3) severe mass fraction restrictions, (4) rapid transition from the hypersonic entry mode to a descent and landing configuration, (5) the need for supersonic propulsion initiation, and (6) increased system reliability. This investigation explores the potential of extending robotic entry, descent and landing architectures to human missions and highlights the challenges of landing large payloads on the surface of Mars.