MARS EXPLORATION PROGRAM

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MARS EXPLORATION PROGRAM NSTA/ITEA/NASA-NES
ROBOTICS INSTITUTE
Sheri Klug Mars Space Flight Facility Arizona
State University Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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Earth / Mars Comparison
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Earth
Mars
color
shape
shape
polar caps
polar caps
color
weather
weather
?
size
life
atmosphere
magnetic field
magnetic field
life
size
atmosphere
water
temperature
temperature
water
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Simple Facts About Mars
Diameter 6794 km (53 of Earth - 4222 mi) Mars
Day 24 hours, 39.5 minutes Mars Year 687 Earth
Days Atmosphere 95 carbon Dioxide, 3
nitrogen Gravity 38 of Earth Temperature
-140C to 20C (-220F to 68F)
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What is the main objective for the exploration of
Mars?
(Poll question)
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MARS SCIENCE STRATEGY Follow the Water!
Common Thread
Determine if Life Ever Arose on Mars
LIFE
CLIMATE
Characterize the Climate
Characterize the Geology
GEOLOGY
Prepare for Human Exploration
HUMAN
When? Where? Form? Amount?
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Water is key to life as we know it on Earth.
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Mars Exploration Program Timeline
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How often does NASA launch a spacecraft to Mars?
(Poll question)
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Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)

• MGS has returned more images than all past
  Mars missions combined
• so far!

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Mars Odyssey

• Science Results
• Discovered water ice in the upper few feet of the
  surface, at near the poles
• Tracked dramatic seasonal changes, such as the
  comings and goings of polar ice, clouds and dust
  storms.
• Created maps showing radiation and minerals

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Mars Exploration Rovers
Opportunity Landed January 24, 2004 Currently
Sol 496
Spirit Landed January 3, 2004 Currently Sol 517
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Opportunity Rover Rolling Again!
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Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter represents the next
generation of Mars orbiters.
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MRO at Kennedy Space Center Clean Room
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The Atlas V rocket will launch MRO into space.
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Atlas 5 Rocket Stage 1 blasts off from Earth and
Stage 2 powers the spacecraft onto a precise
trajectory toward Mars.
Stage 2 Centaur engine
Stage 1 Atlas booster
MRO spacecraft
Protective nose cone
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As with any Mars mission, just getting to the
target is half the battle. MRO has many
obstacles to overcome
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Obstacle_01 Launch
Sitting on top of a giant, controlled explosion,
the spacecraft is subjected to intense vibration
and incredible acoustic rumbling from the
violent force of the rocket.
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Obstacle_02 Cruise
For seven months, the orbiter travels through the
freezing vacuum of interplanetary space.
Throughout the 300-million-mile journey, MRO is
susceptible to damaging solar particles that can
be spewed from the Sun without warning.
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Obstacle_03 Orbit Insertion
At the precise moment, MRO must execute a
25-minute rocket burn to slow down enough to be
captured into orbit. As the spacecraft passes on
the far side of Mars, engineers on Earth face
complete radio silence.
March_2006
lt end orbit insertion
lt closest approach
lt start orbit insertion
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Obstacle_04 Aerobraking
Streaking across the Martian sky, MRO dips into
the atmosphere to trim its orbit to the precise
path.
Come in too high, and the thin atmosphere isnt
enough to slow down the spacecraft too low, and
the intense friction destroys the spacecraft.
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Obstacle_04 Aerobraking, Cont.
This high-friction, high-intensity process
repeats over 500 times!
Each successive dip into the atmosphere tightens
up the orbital path until the spacecraft is ready
to begin its science mission.
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In planning a mission to Mars, what is the most
mission critical part of the procedure?
(Poll question)
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MRO Searching for the Water
SHARAD Shallow Radar Instrument Objective
Penetrates the ground to search for water ice at
depths greater than three feet.
CRISM Spectrometer Objective Analyzes the
surface, creating a color map of mineral deposits
that indicates where water recently lay.
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Where is the next landing site for future
habitat-seeking rover missions?
CTX camera Context camera Objective Provides
wide area views to give context to
high-resolution data from other instruments.
HiRISE camera High-res camera Objective Zooms
in on landforms and debris in areas where water
once flowed.
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MRO will return a lot of data.
MRO will return 34 terabits of data -- equivalent
to about 1,000 DVDs.
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Classroom resources to reinforce STEM learning
available
Mars Robotics Education Poster Activities
http//mars.jpl.nasa.gov/classroom
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Rock Around The World
6400 Rocks Received
Send Us Your Rocks!
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SCIENCE THROUGH ARTS HUMANITIES
The Imagine Mars Project is a science, technology
and arts initiative that guides students to
create a community on Mars. This program ties to
NASAs long-term vision for human exploration.
Inner City Student Mars Mural On Elementary
School Wall
Students with Art Projects
Student Concepts of Mars Colony
Mars Gravity Science through Dance
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Why is NASA interested in having students
participate in their missions?
(Poll question)
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Mars Websites http//mars.jpl.nasa.gov httpmarsed
.asu.edu http//msip.asu.edu htttp//marsbound.asu
.edu