Missions to the Red
Planet. (Part 1)
A look at recent and current
Mars missions
Andy Hill (Jan 2005)
Introduction
Mars has fascinated mankind
for thousands of years and
been a target for investigation
almost since man first went into
space.
Now at the start of the 21st
century we have at last the
means to have a close look at
the red planet and maybe in
the near future go there
ourselves.
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Beagle 2 Lander- ESA
Mars is a harsh and unforgiving planet and half of the missions
sent there have failed, the UK’s ill-fated Beagle 2 being the latest
casualty, but the human race keep going back unable to satisfy
its curiosity.
Recent Mars History
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The data received in 1976 from
the Viking probes had seemed to
confirm that Mars was devoid of
life and NASA concluded that it
wasn’t worth going there.
Viking Lander - NASA
It would take a 1.9 kg rock
blasted off the Martian surface
several million years ago to
rekindle interest back in the
Red Planet. Eventually found in
Antarctica in 1984 where it had
lain undisturbed for 13,000
years, its significance was originally overlooked.
Mars Meteorite - NASA
Recent Mars History
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It took 9 years before anyone correctly identified meteorite
ALH84001 was one of only 12 so far found on Earth that had
originally come from Mars. In 1993 the mistake was spotted and
when scientists took a closer look at this piece of our nearest
neighbour they discovered, to their amazement, possible evidence
of life.
Under a microscope the meteorite
appeared to show the fossilised
remains of tiny bacteria, although
it was disputed by some scientists
that the formations were natural.
There was only one way to be sure
and NASA decided to return to
Mars.
Microscopic view of Mars
Meteorite - NASA
Recent Mars Missions
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It was hoped that Mars
Observer, launched on 25th
September 1992 and already
on route to Mars might answer
whether there were areas on
Mars where life might once
have existed.
Mars Observer
- NASA
The on-board instruments were never trained on the Martian surface
as the mission ended with disappointment on August 22, 1993, when
contact was lost with the spacecraft shortly before it was to enter orbit
around Mars.
It was another 3 years before the next spacecraft was sent to Mars.
Recent Mars Missions
NASA launched Mars Global Surveyor on 7th November 1996. Its
mission was to photograph the Martian surface in much more detail
and act as a communications link for future spacecraft.
The orbiter completed its primary mission of measuring the Martian
surface from its polar orbit on 31st January 2001. The craft has
studied Mars’s surface, atmosphere and interior over an entire
Martian year.
Global Surveyor is still in orbit around
Mars and continues to send
photographs back to Earth, recent ones
showing the Opportunity Lander on the
planet’s surface.
Mars Global Surveyor - NASA
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Recent Mars Missions
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On the 4th December 1996 NASA launched Mars Pathfinder. Its
mission was to deploy a lander on the Martian surface which would
contain a small robotic rover (Sojourner). This would be remotely
controlled from Earth via a relay in the lander.
Mars Pathfinder touched down on the
Martian surface on the 4th July 1997
and began sending data back to Earth.
Findings from the investigations
carried out by scientific instruments
on both the lander and rover suggested
that Mars was at one time in its past
warm and wet, with water existing
in its liquid state and had a thicker
atmosphere.
NASA decided further investigation was
needed and more missions were planned.
Mars Pathfinder &
Sojourner - NASA
Recent Mars Missions
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The opportunity to go to Mars comes around every 26 months when
the alignment of the two planet’s orbits around the sun allows
spacecraft to travel between them with the least energy.
The next 2 missions to Mars both ended in failure and it is thought
that they entered the Martian atmosphere at too steep an angle
causing them to burn up as they attempted orbit insertion.
Mars Climate Orbiter
launched 11th
December 1998 lost
on arrival 23rd
September 1999.
MarsClimate Orbiter
- NASA
Mars Polar Lander
launched 3rd January
1999 lost on arrival
3rd December 1999.
Mars Polar Lander
- NASA
Current Mars Missions
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Launched on April 7th 2001,
Mars Odyssey carried some
of the instruments lost on the
failed Mars Observer. The
spacecraft entered a circular
Mars orbit in January 2002.
It was the first spacecraft to
use the aerocapture technique,
skipping through the planet’s
upper atmosphere to slow itself
down to achieve a stable orbit.
Mars Odyssey - NASA
The craft’s 2 main instruments, the Thermal Emission Imaging
System and Gamma Ray Spectrometer, have mapped the entire
Martian surface to a depth of a couple of metres in a search for
water and hydrogen, finding deposits at nearly all locations.
Its primary science mission complete, it now acts as a data relay
satellite for surface missions.
Current Mars Missions
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Mars Express was Launched
by ESA on 2nd June 2003, it
achieved orbit insertion on
25th December 2003. It
continues to map Mars today.
The principal instrument on
the spacecraft is the high
resolution stereo camera
which has been photographing
the planet in minute detail.
It carried a small lander which
Mars Express & Beagle 2 Launch
contained the rover Beagle 2.
- ESA
This was released on 19th
December as Mars Express undertook a series of aero-braking
manoeuvres dipping into the upper Martian atmosphere to lose
speed.
Beagle 2 was deemed lost after it failed to make contact with Mars
Express from the Martian surface.
Current Mars Missions
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The most ambitious Mars
missions to date are the
current twin lander missions
of Spirit and Opportunity
that have been tracking
across the Martian surface
for the past year examining
soil and rock formations.
Their mission is to search
for evidence of water and
possible signs of life, either
past or present.
Spirit rover - NASA
In 2004 NASA announced that
one of the rovers, Opportunity, had found evidence of ancient water
and it is now thought that Mars would have been a suitable place for
life to evolve.
Current Mars Missions
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Although designed for a 3 month mission
only, both rovers have continued to
operate with only minor problems.
They have examined more rocks and
travelled further than any other landing
mission, sending back a mound of data
that will take scientists years to process.
Spirit on lander - NASA
Spirit driving across Mars - NASA
Having found evidence that Mars was
once covered with lakes, rivers and
oceans of water that could have
supported life, the search still goes on
to find evidence of life itself either
modern or ancient.
Perhaps the next missions to the Red
Planet will find that evidence.
Confirmed Future Mars Missions
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Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)
is due for launch in August of this
year and will arrive at Mars in March
2006. It will finish aerobraking in
the November and then begin its
2 year mission.
During its mission it will use a much
more powerful imaging system to
photograph the Martian surface with
a resolution of 20-30cm.
MRO - NASA
In addition to its high-resolution
camera, the MRO will carry a ground-penetrating radar, an infrared
radiometer designed for atmospheric studies, and a colour images to
monitor dust storms. The orbiter will also serve as a high-powered
communications relay for future surface missions offering a
substantial increase in data throughput and giving the possibility of
sending video from surface rovers.
Confirmed Future Mars Missions
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Phoenix Lander will be the
first NASA scout mission
and is due to launch in
October 2007.
Its name comes from the
fact that it is a duplicate
of the failed Mars Polar
Lander mission of 1999.
After that failure a copy of
the lander due to launch in
2001 was put in storage. It
is this craft that will be
sent to Mars.
Phoenix Lander undergoing trials - NASA
It will land in the frozen northern arctic plain of Mars where its robotic
arm and microscopic imager will be capable of digging up to a metre
into the soil in order to search for water in the frozen permafrost. At
present it is not certain how much the instrument payload will be
modified.
Confirmed Future Mars Missions
Net Lander is currently scheduled
for launch in September 2007,
although the mission is under
review and may be delayed until
2009.
The Net Lander project would
deliver an orbiter spacecraft as
well as land a cluster of four
landers on the Red Planet.
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Mars Net Lander model - CNES
It will be a truly networked
mission, with the four landers acting in concert with the orbiter to
study Mars jointly. Their examinations would focus on the internal
structure of Mars and its atmosphere.
Net Lander would be launched on an Ariane 5 launch vehicle, perhaps
together with another payload. If the NetLander mission goes ahead,
it would be the first network of scientific stations ever deployed on
Mars.
Confirmed Future Mars Missions
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Mars Science Laboratory
(MSL), scheduled for launch
by NASA in November 2009,
will be much larger than the
current rovers and track
across the Martian surface
for 1 Mars year (=687 Sols).
This mission will have a
Mars science lab - NASA
nuclear engine, a more
powerful version of the engine originally used on the Viking landers,
rather than rely on solar power.
Rather than use the usual airbag landing technique MSL will use a
powered landing dubbed Skycrane. Still under development the craft
will hover 5m above the Martian surface, the rover will slip down a
tether and be deposited softly on the ground ready to begin
exploration.
Skycrane will then clear the MSL landing site with a short hop and
crash harmlessly away from the rover.
Confirmed Future Mars Missions
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NASA’s Sample Return mission is
currently scheduled to launch in
2014 or later, however this date
is not fixed and the mission may
be undertaken as early as 2011.
The mission would consists of
5 components;
-Orbiter
-Lander
-2 mini rovers
-Solid Rocket Ascent Vehicle.
Mars Sample Return - NASA
The lander would dispatch the 2
rovers to gather samples which would be returned and placed in the
accent vehicle. Once full, the accent vehicle would blast off and
rendezvous with the orbiter which would transport the samples back to
Earth.
There is still some debate whether it is safe to bring back samples that
might harbour Martian organisms.
Possible Future Mars Missions
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In addition to confirmed missions
already mentioned, NASA wishes
to send a couple of extra scout
missions to Mars.
There are no firm dates for launch
but the earliest opportunity
would be in 2011.
ARES Scout mission - NASA
Here are the 3 front runners for
missions that NASA might undertake;
-Mars Volcanic Emission and Life Scout (MARVEL)
-Aerial Regional-scale Environment Survey of Mars (ARES)
-Sample Collection for Investigation of Mars (SCIM)
Other missions being considered include the possibility of flying the
first gliders on Mars (KittyHawk) or a lander with a heated probe to
melt through Martian ice to a depth of 100 yards (CryoScout).
Where Will All This Lead?
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Eventually, after this battery of probes, landers and orbiters have
done as much as they can to enlighten us about the Red Planet we
will send a human mission there.
Current estimates are quoting a time-frame for the first manned Mars
mission as being some time after 2030, ESA has said that it would
like to send a mission by 2033 but no definite plans have been put in
place.
Presently, the only credible organisation capable of a Manned Mars
mission is NASA and it is decades away from doing so. Left alone
NASA would quite happily send ever more complex probes there, but
other nations are fast acquiring the technology to mount a manned
mission and the USA will feel obliged to compete in any race to be
first to set foot on Martian soil.
Then there is always the possibility that a probe will discover life
there and if this happens it is likely to speed the process up
considerably. Don’t expect any little green men peering in confusion
into a lander’s camera though, it seems likely that only bacteria
might have evolved, but we live in hope.
Acknowledgements
This Presentation would not have been possible without the help of
the following organisations and sources:
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
www.nasa.gov
• European Space Agency (ESA)
www.esa.int
• French National Space Agency (CNES)
www.cnes.fr
• MarsNews.com –NewsWire for the New Frontier
www.MarsNews.com
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