ENTRY, DESCENT, AND LANDING ON MARS


After what seemed like days, the deceleration pressures eased a bit. Evelyn flatly announced their speed was now subsonic. Another strong jolt shook the Perseus as the commander jettisoned the hypersonic parachute and opened a larger, subsonic chute. The G-forces increased again, almost reaching a so-familiar level of normal Mars gravity. The worst of the descent was over.

--- Shadows of Medusa, Chapter 23




"Landing on Mars is hard."


This quote, by a friend of mine at a recent settlement planning workshop, can't be emphasized enough. The Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) of high-mass payloads on Mars currently requires development and testing of some new technologies. More than any other area of focus, EDL shortcomings have the potential to push back the first human expedition to Mars by years - or if NASA is involved, decades.


This Universe Today article describes the EDL issues in reasonable detail. The "gloom and doom" near the start is a bit excessive, but it makes for a better read... and the conclusions toward the end are sound. Mars EDL challenges should certainly motivate the next generation of aerospace engineers.


One clarification to the article above... in the section discussing hypercones, a payload goal of 60 tonnes is mentioned. Wow, that's a lot! Using the Medusa approach (or Mars Direct), 20 tonne payloads are far more feasible.


And one cynical comment about the EDL situation... perhaps the difficulty of landing large payloads on Mars might actually (finally) convince some within the ranks of NASA to abandon the Battlestar Galactica approach? Please?





For additional information about various human space exploration topics, try these links:
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Last updated:  July 19, 2007.

E-mail the author:   Brian -dot- Enke -at- gmail -dot- com

Note: all feedback is welcome, especially offers to improve the content of the site or fix errors...











"Perhaps due to her irresolvable issues with Irena, Anna had made a stronger effort to befriend Ollie, superficially at least. Though Ollie acted like a loving uncle toward her, she could never be completely at ease with him. She could never be completely at ease with anyone. Her inner walls were too high and thick. "

Chapter 1