Mars Deep Drill Explore Active Hydrothermal Habitats

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Mars Deep DrillExplore Active Hydrothermal
Habitats
MARS FUTURE MISSION STUDIES
Sylvia Miller, John Essmiller, David Beaty Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, California Institution of
Technology January 16, 2004
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NOTE This is a product of a preliminary,
representative mission study. Contact James
F. Jordan Manager, Pre-Projects and Advanced
Studies Office Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
California Institution of Technology Email
James.F.Jordan-Jr_at_jpl.nasa.gov OR Authors
Sylvia Miller (Sylvia.L.Miller_at_jpl.nasa.gov)
John Essmiller (John.C.Essmiller_at_jpl.nasa.gov)
David Beaty (David.W.Beaty_at_jpl.nasa.gov)
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Pathway Mapping
Earliest Possible Pathways-Compatible Launch
May 2018
Bold, red text indicates the case described in
this package.
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Mars Deep Drill Explore H-T Habitats (active)
Science

• Science objectives MEPAG
• Characterize the geology (stratigraphy,
  structure, chemistry) and geophysics of the
  shallow Martian crust at one site, particularly
  as it relates to interpreting present
  habitability
• Determine as a function of depth the geologic
  processes which have resulted in deposition,
  hydrothermal alteration, diagenesis, and tectonic
  modification of the Martian geologic record 18,
  20, 63, 74, 79, 83, 92, 121, 134, 144
• Investigate the thermal characteristics of the
  Martian subsurface 109
• Obtain visual and spectroscopic images of the
  local landing site to establish context for the
  subsurface sample analysis and to determine the
  surface landing location 61
• Search for past or present life in the subsurface
  at one site
• Determine the concentration of frozen and liquid
  water in the Martian subsurface, and its textural
  relationship to the non-volatile components 3,
  123, 56, 4, 11, 13, 15, 10
• Evaluate the presence/absence of both fossil
  biosignatures and biosignatures for living
  organisms 4, 5, 11, 13
• Record the meteorology at one site for at least
  one Martian year 34, 115, 126, 128

• Candidate Instruments
• Drill (10 to 50m)
• Organics Evolved Gas Analyzer
• Life Detection Suite
• Mineralogy/Chemistry Lab
• Microimager
• Stereo Panoramic Camera with Point Spectrometer
• Meteorological Station
• Drill camera
• Downhole
• Ice/Water Detector
• Borehole Camera
• Heat Flow with Thermal Experiments

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Mars Deep Drill Explore H-T Habitats (active)
Science Feed Forward

• Evidence of life would alter nations Mars
  program
• Confirmation of liquid water would support
  further search for life
• Understanding subsurface processes would allow us
  to more accurately predict
• Subsurface life detection targets
• Possible resource availability for future human
  missions

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Mars Deep Drill Explore H-T Habitats (active)
MEPAG Investigations Addressed
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Mars Deep Drill Explore H-T Habitats (active)
Mission

• Scenario
• Land at site thought to be an active hydrothermal
  deposit. Assume latitude between 60 S and 60 N.
  Altitude limited to 2.5 km.
• Drill to at least 10 to 50m with continuous or
  frequent downhole science (50m baselined here).
• Deliver samples to surface about every 1 m.
• All samples imaged. At least 50 samples analyzed.
• Drill rate varies with rock characteristics and
  power
• For this study, assumed 30 cm/hour average.
• 450 days allocated for drilling and sample
  analysis, including approx. 100 days of margin.
  Additional week of post-drilling subsurface
  thermal analysis.
• Trajectory
• Type I
• C3 of 9.2 km2/s2
• Flight time 8 months
• Arrival V? 3.3 km/s

• LV Atlas V 521 or Delta IV 4450-14
• LV Capability 3750-3820 kg at this C3
• Need 5-m fairing
• Launch Date
• May 2018 (assumes 20 day launch period)
• Arrival Date
• January 2019
• Ls 321 deg
• Geometry
• Direct entry
• Pinpoint landing (100 m) (masses used here are
  from 2020 Present Life study could optimize
  further for 2018)

Data relevant to 2018 launch opportunity, with
pinpoint landing
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Mars Deep Drill Explore H-T Habitats (active)
Spacecraft

• Flight system elements
• Lander
• 965 kg including payload
• Descent Stage
• 1080 kg wet
• Entry System
• 798 kg wet
• Carrier
• 407 kg wet
• Biobarrier
• 31 kg released at launch
• (additional 30 kg included in carrier mass)
• Total Launch Mass 3281 kg
• Margins
• 30 mass contingency
• 30 power contingency
• 14-16 (469-539 kg) launch margin (LV dependent)

• Performance attributes
• Based on MSL
• Hazard Detection and Avoidance
• Nuclear power source
• 2 MMRTGs generating 220 W total
• Pinpoint Landing (100 m)
• Payload Mass 180 kg
• Payload Infrastructure Mass 150 kg
• Autonomous drill operations
• Drill realignment and relocation capability
• All X-band lander
• Planetary Protection category IVb

Data relevant to 2018 launch opportunity, with
pinpoint landing
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Mars Deep Drill Explore H-T Habitats (active)
Mass Table



Data relevant to 2018 launch opportunity,
with pinpoint landing data from 2020 Present Life
     study (could optimize further for 2018)
The mass of the other half of the bioshield
(30 kg) is included with the Carrier Using
lower-performing LV
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Mars Deep Drill Explore H-T Habitats (active)
Technology / Infrastructure

• Critical Technology Needs MEPAG
• Autonomous deep drilling with low mass and power
  needs 177, 178, 183, 184
• Instruments
• Down hole, e.g., ice/water detector thermal
  measurements
• Life-detection instrument(s)
• Sample Preparation and Distribution (SPAD) System
  advances
• Planetary Protection advances (IVb)
• Pinpoint landing 152
• MSL
• Descent stage 154
• Precision landing (5 x 10 km) 154
• Hazard detection and avoidance 153
• MMRTGs
• SPAD gen. 1
• Long-term survivability

• Infrastructure Need
• MTO follow-on with both transmit and receive
  X-band proximity link
• Technology cutoff FY14 (TRL 6)
• PDR Nov. 2014
• Candidate Technology Demos for Future Missions
• None identified to date
• Infrastructure feed forward
• None identified to date

Data relevant to 2018 launch opportunity, with
pinpoint landing
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Definition of terms
Source Astrobiology Sub-Team of PSIG (2002)

• Biosignature
• Any indicator of biology, whether fossil or
  living.
• Extant life
• General reference to living species, which may
  also possess a fossil record.
• Extinct life
• General reference to extinct species that only
  exist as fossils.
• Fossil biosignature
• Fossil evidence of life, whether morphological,
  mineralogical or chemical.
• Biosignatures for living organisms
• Evidence of either active metabolism or the
  unaltered cellular structures of extant organisms.

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Definition of terms
Source Astrobiology Sub-Team of PSIG (2002)

• Life detection investigation
• An investigation which is able to identify
  evidence of life (by observation or measurement
  of a biosignature), but which cannot distinguish
  whether the life form is still alive or not.
• Extant life investigation
• An extant life investigation is one which is able
  to demonstrate that an organism is either alive
  or recently dead (by observing biosignatures of
  living organisms), and to interpret some
  properties of its life processes.
• Habitability
• The degree to which a geologic environment has or
  had the potential to support life of any form.