Start Date
4-1968 8:00 AM
Description
Trajectory opportunities have been identified for free return manned flyby, or encounter, missions to Mars and Venus. Using Saturn V launch vehicle technology and assuming the development of a manned planetary spacecraft with two year capability, missions to these planets with experiment payloads of 50,000 Ibs are possible.
Selecting as a design reference mission a triple planet (Venus-Mars-Venus) flyby with a 1977 Earth launch date, a possible experiment program is outlined which employs unmanned probes to explore Mars and Venus during the planetary encounter phase. To complement this a program of space science and astronomy experiments is carried out during the remaining portion of the mission.
A precursory unmanned program of orbital reconnaissance missions with small atmospheric and survivable surface impacter probes is assumed for both planets. Based on this the prime objective of the manned encounter mission at Mars is surface sample return for life detection experiments. Samples from three different selected areas could be recovered during the Mars encounter phase of the mission. Pour types of probes are considered for Venus. A meteorological balloon probe deploys a distribution of weather balloons to record atmospheric data. A companion orbiter serves as a balloon tracking and data relay station. Also considered are slow descent, non-survivable impacter probes which might take TV pictures of the surface from below the cloud layer and survivable impacting lander probes to investigate surface properties.
Several en route experiments have been identified which take particular advantage of the trajectory of the design reference mission. These include optical observations of Zodiacal light, several known asteroids, Mercury, and the moons of Mars. Radio observations of Jupiter and the sun made in conjunction with an earth-based station would also be of interest.
Experiment Payloads for Manned Encounter Missions to Mars and Venus
Trajectory opportunities have been identified for free return manned flyby, or encounter, missions to Mars and Venus. Using Saturn V launch vehicle technology and assuming the development of a manned planetary spacecraft with two year capability, missions to these planets with experiment payloads of 50,000 Ibs are possible.
Selecting as a design reference mission a triple planet (Venus-Mars-Venus) flyby with a 1977 Earth launch date, a possible experiment program is outlined which employs unmanned probes to explore Mars and Venus during the planetary encounter phase. To complement this a program of space science and astronomy experiments is carried out during the remaining portion of the mission.
A precursory unmanned program of orbital reconnaissance missions with small atmospheric and survivable surface impacter probes is assumed for both planets. Based on this the prime objective of the manned encounter mission at Mars is surface sample return for life detection experiments. Samples from three different selected areas could be recovered during the Mars encounter phase of the mission. Pour types of probes are considered for Venus. A meteorological balloon probe deploys a distribution of weather balloons to record atmospheric data. A companion orbiter serves as a balloon tracking and data relay station. Also considered are slow descent, non-survivable impacter probes which might take TV pictures of the surface from below the cloud layer and survivable impacting lander probes to investigate surface properties.
Several en route experiments have been identified which take particular advantage of the trajectory of the design reference mission. These include optical observations of Zodiacal light, several known asteroids, Mercury, and the moons of Mars. Radio observations of Jupiter and the sun made in conjunction with an earth-based station would also be of interest.
Comments
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