A scale model of the Mars Ascent Vehicle is loaded by Wind Tunnel Test Engineer Sam Schmitz into the trisonic wind tunnel at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center for screening. The 14-by-14-inch tunnel has been used to test launch automobile configurations for Artemis, Redstone, Jupiter-C, Saturn, and more. Credit: NASA/Jonathan Deal
Aerodynamics and MAVs Structure
MAV aeroacoustics lead Annie Catherine Barnes, who acted as co-lead for the July screening project, stated the group evaluated scale designs at several angles inside the wind tunnel to see how airflow may affect MAVs structure. Barnes compared it to turbulence on an airplane.
A scale model of the Mars Ascent Vehicle is tested for in the trisonic wind tunnel at Marshall. The tunnels test sections are just 14 inches in height and width however can accomplish wind speeds of approximately Mach 5. Credit: NASA
” Were searching for areas of turbulent flow for launch lorries,” she said. “Were looking for shock oscillations and large locations of pressure change that can cause a structural reaction.”
The group will use data from the July testing campaign and other analyses to form a much better quote of the environments MAV would deal with as it becomes the very first car to introduce from the surface of another planet.
This illustration shows a principle for a proposed NASA Sample Retrieval Lander that would bring a little rocket (about 10 feet, or 3 meters, high) called the Mars Ascent Vehicle to the Martian surface. After being filled with sealed tubes including samples of Martian rocks and soil gathered by NASAs Perseverance rover, the rocket would introduce into Mars orbit.
Mission Objectives and Partnerships
MAV supports the planned Mars Sample Return project, which would bring clinically chosen samples to Earth for study using the most sophisticated instrumentation worldwide. This tactical collaboration with ESA is establishing the technology and the preliminary styles for missions that would accomplish the first return samples from another world. The samples presently being collected by NASAs Perseverance rover throughout its expedition of an ancient river delta have the possible to expose the early advancement of Mars, including the capacity for ancient microbial life.
Handled at Marshall, the MAV would release aboard the Sample Retrieval Lander from Earth for a two-year journey to Mars. It would stay on the surface area of Mars for almost a year of receiving the samples gathered by Perseverance.
Artists impression of ESAs Earth Return Orbiter. Credit: ESA/ATG Medialab
After the Sample Transfer Arm on the lander loads the samples into a container in the rocket, MAV would launch from Mars into orbit around the world, releasing the sample container for the ESA-developed Earth Return Orbiter to catch.
The samples are targeted to get here in the world in the early 2030s. The Mars Sample Return Program is handled by NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California.
The MAV will carry tubes including Martian rock and soil samples into orbit around Mars, where ESAs Earth Return Orbiter spacecraft will confine them in an extremely safe containment capsule and deliver them to Earth. A scale design of the Mars Ascent Vehicle is loaded by Wind Tunnel Test Engineer Sam Schmitz into the trisonic wind tunnel at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center for testing. After being packed with sealed tubes including samples of Martian rocks and soil collected by NASAs Perseverance rover, the rocket would release into Mars orbit. MAV supports the planned Mars Sample Return project, which would bring scientifically chosen samples to Earth for research study utilizing the most advanced instrumentation around the world. The samples currently being collected by NASAs Perseverance rover throughout its expedition of an ancient river delta have the potential to reveal the early advancement of Mars, including the potential for ancient microbial life.
This illustration reveals NASAs Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) in powered flight. The MAV will bring tubes containing Martian rock and soil samples into orbit around Mars, where ESAs Earth Return Orbiter spacecraft will confine them in a highly safe containment pill and provide them to Earth. Credit: NASA
The Mars Ascent Vehicle team finished vital wind tunnel tests at NASAs facility, leading the way for the first rocket launch from Mars. This collaboration in between NASA and ESA intends to return Martian samples to Earth by the early 2030s, offering insights into Marss ancient history and potential microbial life.
The MAV (Mars Ascent Vehicle) team recently finished wind tunnel testing at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in a center that has been a crucial part of NASA objectives going all the way back to the Apollo program.
The exact same facility that provided valuable testing for NASA objectives to low-Earth orbit and the Moon is now helping the company prepare to introduce the first rocket from Mars. The MAV is a fundamental part of the joint strategy between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) to bring scientifically chosen Martian samples to Earth in the early 2030s.