The use of simulation techniques in the design and manufacture of satellites

In 1996 the Russian association (Russia´s equivalent of NASA) launched their most ambitious spacecraft to date to the planet Mars. The spacecraft (Mars96) was intended to be the first of a series of cornerstone missions aimed at further planetary exploration. Mars96 comprised three individual research systems: an orbiter, two soft landers and a pair of penetrator probes. Together, these research systems were to investigate Mars, with particular emphasis on the planet´s atmosphere, surface structure, interior and planetary interaction with the solar wind. Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL), as primary investigator, played a key role in the development of the FONEMA instrument, one of a suite of plasma instruments to be flown on the Mars96 orbiter module. The instrument was intended to investigate the plasma population of near Mars space, with particular emphasis on the mechanics of atmospheric erosion. The development of one of the FONEMA instrument´s core electronic sub-systems is part of MSSL´s contribution to the Mars96 mission, and forms the subject of an MSc by learning contract at Kingston University. The article covers the research, design and development phases of the flight model Sensor Interface Unit (SIU)