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Method for Evaluating Alternative Aerial Platforms for Mars Applications: 

Method for Evaluating Alternative Aerial Platforms for Mars Applications Meyer Nahon McGill University (514) 398-2383 June 20, 2006 Nasreen Dhanji Canadian Space Agency (450) 926-5166 Erick Dupuis Canadian Space Agency (450) 926-4681

Outline: 

Outline Case for Aerial Platforms on Mars Scientific Investigations on Mars Platform Configurations Performance Metrics Forward Work and Recommendations

Case for Aerial Platforms on Mars: 

Case for Aerial Platforms on Mars Bridge gap between orbital and ground-based investigations of Mars Advantages over Orbital Platforms: Acquisition of ultra-high resolution data and imagery Sampling of atmospheric constituents Advantages over Surface Rovers: Extended range Ability to traverse rough terrain that may be of high geologic interest

Scientific Investigations on Mars Using Aerial Platforms: 

Scientific Investigations on Mars Using Aerial Platforms Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) Report Consolidates NASA's key scientific goals, objectives and investigations for Mars exploration Mars mission concepts based on 2003 MEPAG Report: Search for water on Mars Study the Martian climate Perform mineralogical, thermophysical and magnetic studies of Mars

Scientific Investigations on Mars Mission Concept 1: 

Scientific Investigations on Mars Mission Concept 1 Search for Water on Mars Objective: Determine potential for life on Mars Instruments: Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR): Search for shallow water and ice deposits High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC): Obtain imagery of surface features providing evidence of the presence or activity of water (e.g. overflow channels)

Scientific Investigations on Mars Mission Concept 2: 

Scientific Investigations on Mars Mission Concept 2 Study the Martian Climate Objective: Understanding the processes and history of climate on Mars Instruments: Meteorology (MET) Package: Simultaneous measurements of temperature, pressure, wind and humidity Tunable Laser Spectrometer: Measure atmospheric gases active in the infrared spectrum High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC): Monitor dust cloud coverage

Scientific Investigations on Mars Mission Concept 3: 

Scientific Investigations on Mars Mission Concept 3 Mineralogical, Thermophysical and Magnetic Study of Mars Objective Determine the Evolution of the Surface and Interior of Mars Instruments Infrared Reflectance Spectrometer: Mineralogy of Martian surface and presence of frozen H2O and CO2 Tri-axial Fluxgate Magnetometer: Measure the crustal remnant magnetic field Gravity Gradiometer: Study gravity anomalies associated with crustal density variations High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC): Imagery of large scale vertical structures

Aerial Platform Design Requirements: 

Aerial Platform Design Requirements Aerial platform design requirements derived from mission requirements Payload power/mass Aircraft speed Altitude Range Flight Path

Atmospheric Environment on Mars: 

Atmospheric Environment on Mars

Aerial Platform Configurations: 

Aerial Platform Configurations Types of Aerial Platforms Lighter-Than-Air Fixed-Wing Aircraft Rotary-Wing Aircraft Existing aerial platform designs Robotic Martian Airship (RMA) Daedalus 88 Martian Autonomous Rotary-wing Vehicle (MARV) Potential scaling of aerial platforms

Lighter-Than-Air – Robotic Martian Airship (RMA): 

Lighter-Than-Air – Robotic Martian Airship (RMA) Envelope Fabric: 126.3 kg Inflatable Tail: 8.1 kg Rigging & Miscellaneous: 24.6 kg Fuel: 13.0 kg Fuel System: 2.6 kg Mass Engines: 1.1 kg Hydrogen: 14.0 kg Hydrogen Tank, Temperature Control System, Inflation System (Jettisoned): 13.8 kg Table 1. Mass Summary of Robotic Martian Airship Gas Bag Volume (inflated): 16500 m3 Factor of Safety for Gas Bag: 1.2 Total Mass of Airship: 199.66 kg Maximum Speed: 10 m/s Duration: 40 hrs Max Powered Range at Max Speed: 1440 km Length: 50.12 m Width: 25.06 m Table 2. Specifications of the Robotic Martian Airship

Fixed-Wing – Daedalus 88: 

Fixed-Wing – Daedalus 88 Geometry Span: 34 m Area: 30 m2 AR: 38.5 Empty Mass Breakdown (kg) Structure (no engine): 31.1 Control & Navigation: 2.2 Data Communication: 2.6 Hydrazine Akkerman Engine: 13 Battery: 1.2 Miscellaneous: 1.0 Total Empty Mass: 51.1 Aerodynamic Parameters CL: 1.2 Cdo: 0.011 CdS (parasite): 0.18 L/D (3-D): 40.36 Table 3. Characteristics of Daedalus 88

Rotary-Wing – Martian Autonomous Rotary-Wing Vehicle (MARV): 

Rotary-Wing – Martian Autonomous Rotary-Wing Vehicle (MARV) Number of blades: 2 per rotor Radius: 2.13 m Maximum chord: 0.670 m Tip chord: 0.366 m Tip speed: 143.75 m/s Tip Mach number: 0.5 Solidity: 0.25 Effective chord: 0.530 m Thrust coefficient: 0.0232 Mean lift coefficient: 0.85 Maximum blade Reynolds number: 78000 Tip Reynolds number: 64800 Ratio of forward speed to rotor tip speed ratio (): 0.08 Climb rate: 2.5142 m/s Constant drag coefficient (Cdo): 0.038 Total flat plate area: 62.9 m Table 4. MARV Rotor Specifications

Performance Metrics: 

Performance Metrics Provides a common basis for comparing the three aerial platforms Mass Power Maneuverability Complexity Weighted performance factor used to compare each mode of flight for a given mission

Overall Mass: 

Overall Mass Lighter-Than-Air Aircraft Fixed-Wing Aircraft Rotary-Wing Aircraft

Power Required: 

Power Required Lighter-Than-Air Aircraft Fixed-Wing Aircraft Rotary-Wing Aircraft

Maneuverability: 

Maneuverability Influencing factors: Ability to change direction Turn Radius Range of speed Ability to hover

Complexity: 

Complexity Influencing factors: Ease of deployment Deployment during descent vs. ground deployment => time constraints Mechanical complexity Folding due to packaging constraints Design risk Technological maturity

Performance Metrics Evaluation: 

Performance Metrics Evaluation Evaluation of each performance metric Overall weighted performance factor (WPoverall) Performance relative to performance metric (WPk) Weight of each performance metric (Xk) Performance relative to influencing factor (An) Weight of each influencing factor (Bn)

Performance Metrics Evaluation: 

Performance Metrics Evaluation

Forward Work: 

Forward Work Evaluate performance metrics for each mode of flight Potential scaling of original designs Determine weighting for each aerial platform for each mission concept Investigate unconventional modes of flight Flapping-wing aircraft Hybrid aircraft

Slide22: 

QUESTIONS?

Method for Evaluating Alternative Aerial Platforms for Mars Applications: 

Method for Evaluating Alternative Aerial Platforms for Mars Applications Meyer Nahon McGill University (514) 398-2383 June 20, 2006 Nasreen Dhanji Canadian Space Agency (450) 926-5166 Erick Dupuis Canadian Space Agency (450) 926-4681