An international Mars Exploration Program

• Published in: Acta astronautica Vol. 22; pp. 255 - 260
• Main Authors: Rea, Donald G., Craig, Mark K., Cunningham, Glenn E., (Bill) Conway, Harold L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 1990
• ISSN: 0094-5765; 1879-2030
• DOI: 10.1016/0094-5765(90)90027-I

A Mars Exploration Program to be executed by the international space community is being studied by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This program is based on a set of separate missions, each conducted by different national space agencies, whose overall objective is to further the exploration of Mars by robotic means, provide precursor information for eventual human exploration of Mars, establish management relations which will carry forward to human exploration, and in the process contribute significantly to worldwide cooperation in the exploration of space and the prosperity of mankind. A mission set consisting of a high resolution imaging orbiter launched in the 1996 Mars opportunity, and a communications orbiter and rover with sample return elements launched in the 1998 opportunity, form the core of this proposed program. An optional variation would launch the sample return elements in 2001. The Martian atmospheric and surface samples would be returned to Earth approximately three years after the launch of the return elements. In addition to these core elements are penetrators, surface stations and balloons, each of which will make its own unique contribution. The responsibilities for the various elements would be allocated such that a space agency with extensive remote sensing expertise would design and implement an orbiter for the 1996 opportunity which would provide sub-meter resolution of the potential landing sites, certifying them safe from landing hazards and providing maps for planning rover traverses. In 1998 a rover would be launched to collect a variety of samples over a distance of some tens of kilometers. These samples would then be transferred to a vehicle for return to Earth. It is expected that the US and USSR would assume joint responsibility, with one nation implementing the rover and the other the sample return. Other nations or space agencies would provide the other elements which would become part of the Mars exploration infrastructure. All of the participating nations would have appropriate roles in the science investigations. A program of this complexity will inevitably present management challenges such as the establishment of mission objectives, development of the mission design, allocation of functional requirements to the flight elements, allocation of shared resources, e.g. time available on the Deep Space Network, coordination of schedules, coordination of flight and interface verification testing and coordination and conduct of mission operations, including data analysis. A key to meeting these challenges is a technical and management design that embodies efficient decision processes, simplified programmatic and technical interfaces and a non-adversarial environment.