1 / 32

Penetrators in the Solar System

Learn about the development and trials of kinetic penetrators for lunar exploration missions. Discover their ability to survive high impact speeds and penetrate the lunar surface. Explore the challenges of impact survival, communication, power, delivery, and funding.

smendez
Download Presentation

Penetrators in the Solar System

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Penetrators in the Solar System andMoonLITE Alan Smith on behalf of the UK Penetrator Consortium MSSL/UCL UK To Moon and beyond – Bremen 16 September 2008

  2. Detachable De-orbit Stage Point of Separation PayloadInstruments PDS (Penetrator Delivery System) Penetrator What are kinetic penetrators ? • Instrumented projectiles • Survive high impact speed • Penetrate surface ~ few metres • An alternative to softlanders • Low mass/lower cost=> multi-site deployment

  3. Challenges... • impact survival • communications • power/lifetime/cold • delivery • funding

  4. History ‘No survivable high velocity impacting probe has been successfully landed on any extraterrestrial body’  DS2 (Mars) NASA 1999 ?  Mars96 (Russia) failed to leave Earth orbit Japanese Lunar-A cancelled (now planned to fly on Russian Lunar Glob)   Many paper studies and ground trials

  5. Micro-Penetrators payload instruments

  6. Prime Planetary Targets EnceladusTitan Europa Moon

  7. Europa Subsurface Ocean 10Km

  8. Enceladus • 500Km dia. (c.f. with UK) • Fierce south pole plume (ice/dust) • Hi-albedo covering Saturnian moons ? • ‘Atmosphere’ (H2O,N2,CO2,CH4) • Liquid water under surface (life ?) (image from Wikipedia)

  9. A Comparison Orbital velocity 1.68 1.43 0.17at surface (km/s) (3.7 to reach orbit) Radiation kRadsMRads 10s KRads Surface 50-100K/250K 100K 70Ktemperature Europa Enceladus Moon

  10. Fluvial plain Titan • heavy atmosphere • mountains, • dunes • lakes • weather • winds • clouds • precipitation • seasons • complex organic chemistry • very cold • pre-biotic chemisty ? • life ? Dunes Titan as seen from the Cassini–Huygens spacecraft. Wikipedia

  11. Terminal Velocity • Assuming: • 10kg, 12cm diam, Drag coefficient 0.2 • Venus 34 m/s • Mars 1310 m/s • Titan 48 m/s • Earth 267 m/s PDS => Atmospheric braking

  12. MoonLITE Science & Exploration Objectives “The Origin and Evolution of Planetary Bodies” “Waterand its profound implications for life andexploration” “Ground truth & support for future human lunar missions”

  13. Polar comms orbiter MoonLITE Mission 3 • Delivery and Comms Spacecraft(Orbiter). • Payload:4 penetrator descent probes • Landing sites:Globally spaced - far side - polar region(s) - one near an Apollo landing site for calibration • Duration:>1 year for seismic network. Far side 4 2 1

  14. Development Program • Studies • Simulation & Modelling • Impact Trials • build a real penetrator • impact it into a sand target at near supersonic speed !

  15. Impact Trial - Objectives Demonstrate survivability of penetrator shell, accelerometers and power system. Assess impact on penetrator subsystems and instruments. Determine internal acceleration environmentat different positions within penetrator. Extend predictive modelling to new impact and penetrator materials. Assess alternative packing methods. Assess interconnect philosophy.

  16. Impact Trial: 19-21 May 2008 • Full-scale trial • 3 Penetrators, Aluminium • 300m/s impact velocity • Normal Incidence • Dry sand target 13 Kg 0.56m … just 9 months from start to end. Starting from scratch in Sep’07

  17. Impact trial - Contributors

  18. Impact trial – Payload Mass spectrometer Radiation sensor Batteries Magnetometers Accelerometers Power Interconnection Processing Micro-seismometers Accelerometers, Thermometer Batteries,Data logger Drill assembly

  19. Trial Hardware Inners Stack

  20. Impact Trial - Configuration • Rocket sled • Penetrator

  21. Target • Dry sand • 2m x2m x6m • Small front entrance aperture (polythene)

  22. Real-Time Impact Video

  23. Firing

  24. 1’st Firing - Results • Firing parameters: • Impact velocity: 310 m/s • (c.f. 300m/s nominal) • Nose-up ~8degs (c.f. 0 degs nominal) • => worst case • Penetrator found in top of target • Glanced off a steel girder which radically changed its orientation. • Penetration: ~3.9m • Much ablation to nose and belly • Rear flare quite distorted. • Penetrator in one piece ✓

  25. 1st Firing – internal Results Micro seismometer bay Connecting to MSSL accelerometer and data processing bay

  26. 1’st Firing – QinetiQ accelerometer data Initial impact hi-res: Tail slap peak Overview: 5 kgee smoothed, ~16 kgee peak high frequency components ~5khz

  27. 1’st Firing – MSSL accelerometer data 11 kgee Peak gee forces in rear of penetrator Along axis: • Cutter: 3kgee • Main: 10kgee • Girder: 1kgee Along axis cutter Main impact Girder 15 kgee Vertical axis 4 kgee Horizontal axis

  28. Firings Overview • All 3 firings remarkably consistent ~308-310m/s velocity, and ~8 degs nose up. • All 3 Penetrators survived & Payloads still operational. Steel nose for 3rd firing

  29. Survival Table Triple worst case: exceed 300m/s, >8deg attack angle No critical failures– currently all minor to unprotected bays or preliminary mountings

  30. Impact Trial Objectives Demonstrate survivability of penetrator body, accelerometers and power system. Assess impact on penetrator subsystems and instruments. Determine internal acceleration environmentat different positions within penetrator. Extend predictive modelling to new penetrator materials,and impact materials. Assess alternative packing methods. Assess interconnect philosophy.

  31. Next Steps & Strategy … • Next trial – aiming for Sumer 09, then Spring 10. • Impact into closer representative lunar regolith • => Full-up system (all operating) (TRL5) • Transmit from target Strategy: in parallel :- - MoonLITE Phase-A • Delta developments for icy planets

  32. - End - Penetrator website: http://www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/planetary/missions/Micro_Penetrators.php email: as@mssl.ucl.ac.uk

More Related