Assessment of NASA's Mars Exploration Architecture Letter Report (1998) / Chapter Skim
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Letter Report
Letter Report
Pages 1-22
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. In the course of its study, COMPLEX reviewed material submitted by the Mars Architecture Definition Team, consulted on recent scientific and technical developments with a select group of experts representing the diverse interests of the Mars science community, reviewed prior relevant reports by COMPLEX and other National Research Council (NRC)
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• A Science Definition Team should be appointed by NASA Headquarters as soon as possible to provide oversight, guidance, and recommendations as an integral part of the implementation process. The team's responsibilities should include, among other things, devising "decision trees" based on the proposed missions' potential for scientific discoveries, assessing the scientific consequences of various descope options, and determining if proposed landing sites meet program goals.
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• The enabling and enhancing activities, such as the micromissions, the uncommitted payload mass, and operational tests, are fundamental to fulfilling the scientific objectives of the Mars exploration program because they can enhance the data return, enable new or unique measurements, provide flexibility to respond to new discoveries, and permit the optimization of surface operations based on experience from relevant preflight tests. In addition, the micromissions and uncommitted payload mass provide a potential means of addressing scientific goals not currently included in NASA's architecture (e.g., studies of martian climate change)
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Charles Elachi (Director of Space and Earth Science Programs at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory [JPL] and chair of the Mars Architecture Definition Team)
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To the extent possible, information must be obtained on the global martian environment in order to understand the events in the history of the martian samples and of the planet in general.2 The missions outlined in the Mars exploration architecture will provide some of this information through the course of site selection, in situ surface observations, and analysis of returned samples. One consequence of a biologically oriented program is a heightened awareness of issues related to planetary protection.
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The increasingly important biological and life sciences communities. The roles, relationships, and interfaces among these interests and associated constituencies in various NASA centers must be articulated to avoid confusion and misunderstanding and to ensure that the scientific goals for the exploration of Mars are not compromised by competing goals and objectives.9 At the national level, NASA's Mars exploration architecture must be responsive to other goals.
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Because of the inherent risks in these elements and limitations in funds and schedule, it is essential that various descope options and contingencies be defined for each major element of the program and that the scientific consequences of the descopes be clearly identified. The Space Studies Board has consistently maintained that scientists should be involved in flight programs from the earliest possible opportunity.13 Thus, a Science Definition Team should be appointed by NASA Headquarters as soon as possible to provide oversight, guidance, and recommendations as an integral part of the implementation process.
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Promote Associated Enabling and Enhancing Activities The Mars exploration architecture outlines a framework within which it should be possible to conduct a highly focused program of martian exploration. COMPLEX notes that it should be possible to enhance various aspects of the scientific activities that can be conducted within this framework.
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Enhancements and Descope Options There is the danger that enabling and enhancing activities such as the micromissions, the uncommitted payload mass, and operational tests might be viewed as "reserves." COMPLEX views these elements as fundamental in fulfilling the scientific objectives of the Mars exploration program because they can enhance the data return, enable new or unique measurements, provide flexibility to respond to new discoveries, and permit the optimization of surface operations based on experience from relevant preflight tests. In addition, the micromissions and uncommitted payload mass provide a potential means of addressing scientific goals not currently included in NASA's architecture (e.g., studies of martian climate change)
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Such outreach and educational activities might be funded through NASA's current education grants. A relatively few dollars, wisely spent, could yield enormous benefits to the nation's educational system.31 Budgetary and Technology Concerns Better Definition of Program Costs Overall, COMPLEX viewed the architecture as an aggressive plan that, according to the Mars Architecture Definition Team, was consistent with available resources, but COMPLEX's level of confidence in the estimated costs for program development and implementation was low.
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Moreover, a biologically oriented program must be conducted within the framework of appropriate safeguards against forward and back contamination to maintain scientific integrity and public trust. • A Science Definition Team should be appointed by NASA Headquarters as soon as possible to provide oversight, guidance, and recommendations as an integral part of the implementation process.
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Relevant resources must also be identified for these and related activities, such as sample- and data-analysis programs, and upgrading laboratory facilities. • The enabling and enhancing activities, such as the micromissions, the uncommitted payload mass, and operational tests, are fundamental to fulfilling the scientific objectives of the Mars exploration program because they can enhance the data return, enable new or unique measurements, provide flexibility to respond to new discoveries, and permit the optimization of surface operations based on experience from relevant preflight tests.
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18 Space Science Board, National Research Council, Space Science in the Twenty-First Century: Imperatives for the Decades 1995 to 2015 -- Planetary and Lunar Exploration, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1988, pages 8-9 and 17. 19 Space Studies Board, National Research Council, "Scientific Assessment of NASA's Mars Sample-Return Mission Options," letter report to Jurgen Rahe, NASA December 3, 1996, pages 3-4.
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Wanke, Heinrich Max-Planck Institute for Chemistry Presenters 1. Elachi, Charles Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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McCleese, Dan Jet Propulsion Laboratory Working Groups Surface Sample Remote Exobiology: Science: Return: Sensing: Jakosky*
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Constraints on the Architecture The Mars Architecture Definition Team was asked to formulate its response subject to the following constraints: The budget profile for Code-S-related activities is defined and should be adhered to; The budgets for Code-M- and Code-U-related Mars activities are defined for the 2001 missions and are to be determined for later missions; Plan for a series of diverse samples from multiple sites, with the first sample-return mission targeted for launch in 2005 (2008 return) or earlier; Assume that the French Space Agency, CNES, will provide an Ariane 5 launcher (and, possibly, an orbiter)
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Its primary payload is the Mars Volatile and Climate Surveyor, an integrated science package consisting of a mast-mounted stereo imager and meteorological instruments, a thermal- and evolved-gas analyzer, and a 2-mlong robotic arm equipped with a sampling device and a microscope camera. The lander also carries a descent imager, a microphone experiment, and a lidar experiment provided by the Russian Space Agency.
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These are the Martian Radiation Environment Experiment, the Mars In-Situ Propellant Production facility, and the Mars Environment Compatibility Assessment instrument. Mars Exploration Program, 2003-2013, According to Mars Architecture Definition Team The Mars Architecture Definition Team has suggested the following sequence of missions in the period from 2003 to 2013.
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Micromissions will be dispatched at each launch opportunity. NASA's Expectation The Mars Architecture Definition Team expects that in the period from 2002 to 2012, the Mars exploration program will achieve the following: Acquire and return the first martian samples to Earth by 2008; Acquire and return at least three sets of samples by 2012; Provide a continuous flow of scientific information about Mars's present and past history
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Unbudgeted Items in Mars Surveyor Program A number of key items related to NASA's Mars exploration architecture are not currently included in the budget for the Mars Surveyor program. These include: The handling of samples after they are returned to Earth; Upgrades to laboratories to prepare them for the analysis of martian samples; Communications infrastructure (e.g., low- and aerostationary-orbit communications satellites)
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Cleland, University of Washington Gerald Elverum, Jr., TRW Space and Technology Group Marilyn L Fogel, Carnegie Institution of Washington Ronald Greeley, Arizona State University Bill Green, Former Member, U.S.
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Haynes, Cornell University John L Hennessy, Stanford University Carol M
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