Aerial Regional-scale Environmental Survey explained

Aerial Regional-scale Environmental Survey
Operator:NASA
Mission Duration:1 hour on Mars
Power:watts

The Aerial Regional-scale Environmental Survey (ARES) was a proposal by NASA's Langley Research Center to build a robotic, rocket-powered airplane that would fly one mile above the surface of Mars,[1] in order to investigate the atmosphere, surface, and sub-surface of the planet.[2] [3] [4] The ARES team, headed by Dr. Joel S. Levine,[5] sought to be selected and funded as a NASA Mars Scout Mission for a 2011 or 2013 launch window. ARES was chosen as one of four finalists in the program, out of 25 potential programs.[6] However, the Phoenix mission was ultimately chosen instead.[7]

ARES would have traveled to Mars compactly folded into a protective aeroshell; upon entry in the thin atmosphere, the capsule would have deployed a parachute to decelerate, followed by ARES release at altitude.

As well as the aforementioned goals, the aircraft would also have investigated the atmosphere of Mars and its weak magnetic field.[8]

Goals

ARES would have been able to measure the crustal magnetization, spatial variability, and field magnitude of Mars, as well as resolving the crustal magnetism source structure with a spatial resolution two orders of magnitude higher than the Mars Global Surveyor.

ARES would also have allowed scientists to help determine the role of water vapor in the Mars atmospheric chemical cycle, and would have searched for potential biogenic gases, volcanic gases, and chemically active gases to determine their spatial distributions and to locate and/or constrain local sources and sinks. At the same time, ARES would have attempted to characterize the structure and dynamics of the Mars atmosphere's boundary layer, as well as its water-equivalent hydrogen abundance and ice burial depth over greatly improved spatial scales compared to past missions.[9]

Design

ARES would transit to Mars via a cruise stage and enter the Martian atmosphere in a traditional aeroshell with heat shield.[10] At the right altitude it would unfold itself into its flight configuration.[10] Propulsion would likely have come from a bipropellant rocket engine, which was a focus over other types of propulsion during its development,[11] but propulsion remained undetermined. The two main criteria used to evaluate the propulsion system were flight range and implementation risk. Possible propulsion technologies were electrical motors, internal combustion and rocket systems. The aircraft was intended to fly for about one hour.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: NASA - Why We Do IT for NASA. 2021-01-18. www.nasa.gov. en.
  2. Web site: Aerial Regional-scale Environmental Survey . 2010-03-25 . P.I: Joel S. Levine . November 20, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100328015409/http://marsairplane.larc.nasa.gov/index.html . 28 March 2010 . dead .
  3. News: Lewis Page . NASA plans robot rocket aeroplane to fly above Mars . 24 November 2009 . . Space . 2010-03-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100323082214/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/24/nasa_robo_rocket_plane_for_mars/page2.html. 23 March 2010 . live.
  4. News: Stuart Fox . NASA Robotic Rocket Plane To Survey Martian Surface . November 24, 2009 . . 2010-03-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100414214920/http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2009-11/nasa-rocket-plane-survey-martian-surface. 14 April 2010 . live.
  5. Web site: Spaceflight Now Breaking News NASA selects four Mars Scout mission concepts for study. 2021-01-18. spaceflightnow.com.
  6. Book: Levine. J. Blaney. D.L.. Diana Blaney . Connemey. J.E.P.. Greeley. Ronald. Head Iii. James. Hoffman. John. Jakosky. Bruce. Mckay. Christopher. Sotin. Chrsitophe. 2003-09-15. Science from a Mars Airplane: The Aerial Regional-scale Environmental Survey (ARES) of Mars. 10.2514/6.2003-6576. 9781624100949.
  7. News: Grey Hautaluoma. Dec 21, 2007. NASA Delays Mars Scout Mission to 2013. NASA. live. 2011-05-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20110524213419/http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/dec/HQ_07283_Mars_Scout_Missions.html. 24 May 2011.
  8. Web site: ARES - Ensuring Reliability . 2010-03-25 . January 14, 2010 . NASA - Langley Research Center . https://web.archive.org/web/20100329224836/http://marsairplane.larc.nasa.gov/reliability.html . 2010-03-29 . dead .
  9. Web site: 2010-03-29. ARES Mars Scout Mission Proposal - Science. https://web.archive.org/web/20100329220827/http://marsairplane.larc.nasa.gov/science.html. dead. 2010-03-29. 2021-01-18.
  10. Web site: Mars Aerial Regional-Scale Environmental Survey (ARES) Coordinate Systems Definitions and Transformations . Christopher A. . Kuhl. March 2009 .
  11. Book: Kuhl, Christopher. 2008-07-21 . 10.2514/6.2008-5246. 9781600869921. 2060/20080030375. Design of a Mars Airplane Propulsion System for the Aerial Regional-Scale Environmental Survey (ARES) Mission Concept. 44th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit. 110871319 .

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