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RV3DHC > NASA 23.02.99 23:59l 102 Lines 4631 Bytes #-9705 (0) @ WW
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Subj: 2\05 JPL - NASA Budget Request Includes New Mars Projects
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To : NASA@WW
>From The "JPL Universe"
February 5, 1999
NASA Budget Request Includes New Projects in Mars Program
By MARK WHALEN
NASA's requested budget for fiscal year 2000 includes funding for two
new program elements in the Mars Surveyor Program.
As part of the agency's request for five new initiatives in its Space
Science Enterprise, NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin on Feb. 1
announced funding for the development of the Mars Network, which
would provide a comprehensive network for increased communications
capability at Mars, as well as Mars Micromissions, to provide
low-cost capability for delivering small payloads to Mars, including
telecommunications elements of the Mars Network.
One of the first micromissions is slated to be the Mars Airplane, a
fly-over mission scheduled for either 2003 or 2005. The vehicle would
provide reconnaissance of sites of possible interest for future
scientific exploration, including sample collection sites.
"The responsibilities of the various NASA centers' work on the Mars
Airplane are still to be determined," noted Glenn Cunningham, deputy
director of the Mars Exploration Directorate at JPL.
Planning for a Mars communications infrastructure has been in the
works at JPL since last fall, following the conclusion of a redesign
of Mars architecture strategy led by JPL Space and Earth Sciences
Program Director Dr. Charles Elachi. Five teams of experts from the
international scientific community helped form the new strategy; a
team led by Dr. Chad Edwards, manager of the Telecommunications and
Mission Operations Directorate (TMOD) Program Office, studied systems
for communications, navigation and information transfer to and from
Mars.
"The eye-opening thing that emerged from that study was that there
are low-cost opportunities to fundamentally change the link between
Earth and Mars," Edwards said, "in terms of increasing bandwidth and
increasing connectivity."
Current technology allows only a few hours or less each day for
communications between a Mars lander and Earth, which would prove
constraining for the operations of sample-return missions planned for
2003 and 2005. The amount of data and imagery that could be brought
back to Earth is also severely limited, Edwards added.
Enhanced telecommunications capability at Mars could include the
development of a constellation of low-cost microsatellites, the first
of which would be developed for a 2003 mission. These would provide
much more frequent contact and data return as well as navigation
determination, much like the Global Positioning System (GPS)
satellites do on Earth. The microsatellites would "piggyback" on a
commercial Ariane V launch vehicle for a ride into Earth orbit before
heading for Mars.
The mass of the entire spacecraft at launch, including propellant,
would be limited to about 200 kilograms (440 pounds).
Edwards said two of these satellites might be launched at every Mars
opportunity (about 26 months), with a lifetime of five to six years
for each satellite.
Another idea under consideration for the 2005 timeframe and beyond is
a further enhanced capability called the Mars Areostationary Relay
Satellite (MARSAT), which would provide near-continuous
communications between a Mars surface site and Earth. This satellite
would orbit over a landing site or other interesting area and would
provide video capability back to Earth, Edwards said.
"This quantum leap in communications capability would change the way
we do science at Mars, and create new opportunities for how NASA can
engage the public in the adventure of Mars exploration," he said.
A "phase A" study - led by Shel Rosell of TMOD's Technology Program
Office and sponsored by Johnson Space Center's Space Operations
Management Office - is currently under way to refine technical and
cost issues.
Rosell said JPL is working with five companies on feasibility studies
on the forementioned low-cost microsatellites, with a request for
proposal for their development to follow.
In addition, Rosell said, "We are trying to develop a common
spacecraft bus with the Mars Exploration Directorate that would
satisfy three requirements: the telecommunications/ navigation
orbiter, a science orbiter, and a science probe carrier"." JPL and
industry teams have been working on a common design for the
spacecraft, which he said would eventually be beneficial for
lower-cost Discovery missions and Earth missions.
Complete details on NASA's fiscal year 2000 budget request are
available online at http://www.nasa.gov/budget/budget_index.html.
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