Kennedy Space Center
Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)
Mission Briefing
Brevard County Commission
March 22, 2011
By:
Steve Brisbin
Associate Director for Center Operations
Kennedy Space Center
Briefing Purpose
Kennedy Space Center
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Update County Officials on the Mars Science Laboratory mission
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Provide an overview of the multi-mission radiological power source
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Focus on the contingency planning activity unique to this mission
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Partnership with Brevard County Emergency Management
Key agencies involved in emergency planning and response
County Interfaces and planning activity
Answer questions the Commission may have and identify interest in
more detailed briefings prior to launch
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Rover Family Portrait
Kennedy Space Center
Spirit and
Opportunity
2003
Sojourner
1996
Curiosity
2011
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Curiosity’s Science Goals
Kennedy Space Center
Curiosity’s primary scientific goal is to explore and
quantitatively assess a local region on Mars’ surface as
a potential habitat for life, past or present
Objectives include:
•Assessing the biological potential of the site by investigating
any organic and inorganic compounds and the processes that
might preserve them
•Characterizing geology and geochemistry, including chemical,
mineralogical, and isotopic composition, and geological
processes
•Investigating the role of water, atmospheric evolution, and
modern weather/climate
•Characterizing the spectrum of surface radiation
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Mission Overview
Kennedy Space Center
ENTRY, DESCENT, LANDING
• Guided entry and powered
“sky crane” descent
• 20×25-km landing ellipse
CRUISE/APPROACH
• Access to landing sites ±30°
latitude, <0 km elevation
• 8 to 9-month cruise
• 900-kg rover
• Arrive August 6-20, 2012
SURFACE MISSION
• Prime mission is one Mars year
(687 days)
LAUNCH
• Window is
Nov. 25 to
Dec. 18, 2011
• Atlas V (541)
• Latitude-independent and longlived power source
• Ability to drive out of landing
ellipse
• 84 kg of science payload
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MSL Science Payload
Kennedy Space Center
REMOTE SENSING
Mastcam (M. Malin, MSSS) - Color and telephoto imaging,
video, atmospheric opacity
ChemCam
Mastcam
ChemCam (R. Wiens, LANL/CNES) – Chemical composition;
remote micro-imaging
RAD
REMS
CONTACT INSTRUMENTS (ARM)
DAN
MAHLI (K. Edgett, MSSS) – Hand-lens color imaging
APXS (R. Gellert, U. Guelph, Canada) - Chemical
composition
ANALYTICAL LABORATORY (ROVER BODY)
MAHLI
APXS
Brush
Drill / Sieves
Scoop
SAM (P. Mahaffy, GSFC/CNES) - Chemical and isotopic
composition, including organics
CheMin (D. Blake, ARC) - Mineralogy
MARDI
ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERIZATION
MARDI (M. Malin, MSSS) - Descent imaging
REMS (J. Gómez-Elvira, CAB, Spain) - Meteorology / UV
RAD (D. Hassler, SwRI) - High-energy radiation
DAN (I. Mitrofanov, IKI, Russia) - Subsurface hydrogen
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Why a nuclear power source?
Kennedy Space Center
Enables Curiosity to…
Been used safely and successfully by
NASA to explore the solar system for
• Travel farther (20 kilometers/12 miles)
more than 40 years
• Last longer (23 months = Martian year)
• Operate much more effectively during
Martian winter
• Go to remote places at high latitudes
• Mars Viking 1 and 2 landers
• Voyager 1 and 2, Galileo, Cassini
• Coming soon: Pluto in 2015!
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What is an MMRTG
Kennedy Space Center
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Generates electricity (with no moving parts) and can provide extra heat to keep
spacecraft subsystems warm in cold environments
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Uses plutonium dioxide fuel as its long-lived heat source
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Designed, built and tested to contain its fuel in a wide range of accident conditions
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MSL Launch Nuclear Safety
Kennedy Space Center
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Chances of a launch accident are small and the
chances of an accident with release are 10 times
smaller
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Unlikely that anyone would be exposed to nuclear
material
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MSL Launch Accident Response
Kennedy Space Center
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NASA has assembled a multi-agency team to prepare for any accident . Key
partners include DOE, FEMA, EPA, Air Force, Coast Guard, State of Florida, and
Brevard County
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Trained environmental monitoring teams are capable of deployment to any area
of potential release
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30 advanced environmental monitoring stations are deployed prior to launch
(including 19 offsite)
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MSL Launch Accident Response Coordination Centers
Kennedy Space Center
Assessment Command & Control
Center
Joint Information Center
Senior Management Center
Brevard County EOC
Brevard County EOC
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Launch and Launch Area Risk
Kennedy Space Center
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We expect a safe and successful launch of the Curiosity mission to Mars.
As with every launch, we prepare for any outcome.
NASA has a long history of safe launch and operation of spacecraft
carrying radioisotope power sources. The NASA team works every day
with the intent of maintaining that excellent record and safely carrying out
every launch.
NASA employs a wide range of safety features to ensure a safe launch.
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First, we use highly reliable launch vehicles.
Next, if there is a problem with the launch, flight termination systems reduce
the likelihood of placing nuclear material in severe accident conditions
beyond controlled areas around the launch pad.
In addition, the nuclear power source includes several layers of protective
features.
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Launch and Launch Area Risk
Kennedy Space Center
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Accidents that could result in a release of nuclear material in the launch
area could only occur in the earliest phases of launch, before the launch
vehicle clears the Florida coastline. No release would be expected from
any launch accidents involving spacecraft impact in the ocean.
If an accident with a release were to occur at or near the launch site, the
greatest portion of any released material would be expected to remain
onsite (KSC and CCAFS) where it presents very low risk to the public.
In the unlikely event of an accident, public exposure to radiation, if any, is
expected to be very small:
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Most people would not be exposed to any radiation.
If there was a release, on average any individual dose (5-10 millirem) would
be equal to about a week of exposure to the background radiation that people
receive from living on Earth.
Americans are exposed to an average of 360 millirem of background
radiation annually, mostly from sources like radon and cosmic rays.
If there were an off site release the maximum dose to any individual from a
launch accident (which is received over 50 years) would be comparable to
less than half of the annual dose from background sources of radiation.
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Summary
Kennedy Space Center
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NASA has an aggressive plan for public and press outreach relative to its
plans for the MSL mission
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We appreciate the Brevard County emergency planning and response
partnership forged over many years of these types of missions
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The planning efforts to date for this mission are the most thorough in the
history of NASA’s MMRTG use, including a comprehensive engagement
of Federal, State and Local partners
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We appreciate the opportunity to bring the Commission up to date on the
MSL and stand ready to conduct more detailed briefings that the
Commission may request
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Learn More About Curiosity
Kennedy Space Center
Mars Science Laboratory
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl
MSL for Scientists
http://msl-scicorner.jpl.nasa.gov
Mars Exploration Program
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov
MSL Candidate Landing Sites
http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites
http://webgis.wr.usgs.gov/msl
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MSL Rover
Kennedy Space Center
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Brevard County
Participation: Mars
Science Laboratory
Launch
Brevard County Participation
Comprehensive Emergency
Management Plan (CEMP)/with Space
Launch Annex for Major Radiological
Source
 Developed Specific Plan Integrated
with KSC Launch Plan for MSL
 Participate in Joint Information System
 MSL “Curiosity” at Brevard County
Fair
 Joint Briefing with media
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Brevard County Participation
Extensive
use of Social Media
SCGTV MSL animation videos
 Joint Selection of off Site Monitoring
Locations
 Coordinate Training with
EMS/Hospitals
 Alerting and Warning of Public if
Required.
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