• DocumentCode
    2099063
  • Title

    The Mars airplane: a credible science platform

  • Author

    Braun, Robert D. ; Wright, Henry S. ; Croom, Mark A. ; Levine, Joel S. ; Spencer, David A.

  • Author_Institution
    Georgia Inst. of Technol., Atlanta, GA, USA
  • Volume
    1
  • fYear
    2004
  • fDate
    6-13 March 2004
  • Abstract
    Significant technology advances have enabled planetary aircraft to be considered as viable science platforms. Such systems fill a unique planetary science measurement gap, that of regional-scale, near-surface observation, while providing a fresh perspective for potential discovery. Recent efforts have produced mature mission and flight system concepts, ready for flight project implementation. This work summarizes the development of a Mars airplane mission architecture that balances science, implementation risk and cost. Airplane mission performance, flight system design and technology readiness are described.
  • Keywords
    aircraft; space vehicles; Mars airplane; airplane mission architecture; flight system; near-surface observation; planetary aircraft; planetary science measurement; Aircraft propulsion; Airplanes; Atmospheric measurements; Costs; Extraterrestrial measurements; Mars; Planetary orbits; Planets; Space technology; Spatial resolution;
  • fLanguage
    English
  • Publisher
    ieee
  • Conference_Titel
    Aerospace Conference, 2004. Proceedings. 2004 IEEE
  • ISSN
    1095-323X
  • Print_ISBN
    0-7803-8155-6
  • Type

    conf

  • DOI
    10.1109/AERO.2004.1367623
  • Filename
    1367623