Mars hopper versus Mars rover
ACTA ASTRONAUTICA, cilt.59, sa.8-11, ss.710-716, 2006 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 59 Sayı: 8-11
- Basım Tarihi: 2006
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2005.07.018
- Dergi Adı: ACTA ASTRONAUTICA
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.710-716
- Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Hayır
Özet
The paper explores the feasibility of using ballistic hopper vehicles with CO2/metal rocket engines instead of rovers in Mars missions. The hopper mission scenario involves several ballistic flights and hence visiting several sites on Mars surface. The Martian CO2 is acquired before every takeoff; the liquid CO2 is used directly as oxidiser for powdered magnesium fuel transported from Earth. The mission analysis takes into account the power and time required for CO2 acquisition. The mathematical simulation shows possibilities to fulfil the exploration programme typically assigned for a rover. It is also shown that the CO2/metal propulsion promises much longer hops as compared with engines using conventional bipropellant transported from Earth. (c) 2005 Published by Elsevier Ltd.