Browsing by Author "Morellina, Stefano"

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Overall Thermal Architecture & Design of the Mars Sample Return Lander Mission
(51st International Conference on Environmental Systems, 7/10/2022) Bhandari, Pradeep; Kandilian, Razmig; Novak, Keith; Miller, Jennifer; Morellina, Stefano; Lyra, Jacqueline; Somawardhana, Ruwan; Singh, Kaustabh
NASA and the European Space Agency are currently planning a Mars Sample Return campaign that would bring Martian regolith and rock samples collected and cached in tubes by the Perseverance rover (Mars 2020) back to Earth for scientific investigation. The Mars 2020 rover landed on Mars, in Jezero Crater, on February 18, 2021. The Mars Sample Retrieval Lander (SRL) would land the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) on the surface of Mars. A Sample Fetch Rover (SFR), in a separate mission, would collect the sample tubes deposited by the Perseverance Rover and insert them in the MAV, followed by the MAV launching them into Mars orbit within an Orbiting Sample (OS) container. The Earth Return Orbiter would rendezvous with the OS, and capture and seal it inside a primary and secondary containment vessel, followed by the OS landing on Earth in the Earth Entry System. The SRL is being designed to maintain the thermal integrity of all thermally controlled components residing in it, including the MAV, lander avionics, the propulsion system, etc. during all flight phases starting from launch until landing and the completion of its mission on the surface of Mars. During cruise, the primary thermal control is achieved by a mechanically pumped fluid loop heat rejection system. On the surface of Mars its environment varies significantly (in excess of a 100�C swing) during a diurnal cycle. There is significant shortage of solar thermal power to maintain the proper temperature range of the SRL, hence its thermal design is very challenging. This paper discusses the thermal design of the SRL during all flight phases by the innovative use of thermal control methods. This minimizes volumetric, mass and power resources to maintain its components and systems within their allowable temperature limits, while surviving the severe environment of cruise & on Mars.
PALETTE Parabolic Reflector Radiator for LuSEE-Night
(2024 International Conference on Environmnetal Systems, 2024-07-21) Bugby, David; Rivera, Jose; Morellina, Stefano; McLean, Ryan; McCauley, Jeremy; Smith, Christopher; Chee, Carolyn; Parker, Robert
The Planetary and Lunar Environment Thermal Toolbox Elements (PALETTE) project was a 3-year JPL-led effort initiated in April 2020 funded by NASA Game Changing Development (GCD) that sought to develop new thermal tools for instruments in extreme environments. One of the thermal tools developed on PALETTE was an additively manufactured (AM) parabolic reflector radiator (PRR) that can achieve a low sink temperature (TSINK) during the day at low latitude lunar sites. Since the ultimate goal of any NASA GCD technology development project is flight infusion, PALETTE has targeted science missions requiring advanced thermal tools. The first such mission was the Farside Seismic Suite (FSS), which will take Mars Insight seismometers to Schrodinger Basin in 2025. FSS required three of the four primary PALETTE tools: 1-thermally-switched enclosure; 2-spacerless MLI; and 3-low conductance thermal isolators. The second PALETTE infusion opportunity is the Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment Night Version (LuSEE-Night), which will land at a low latitude farside site in 2026 to perform 21 cm cosmology from the RF quietness of that site. Because of its low latitude site and lifetime goal of 24 lunar day/night cycles, LuSEE-Night not only required advanced thermal tools similar to those on FSS, but also required a PRR. To demonstrate PALETTE PRR technology on LuSEE-Night, NASA GCD initiated the PALETTE PRR for LuSEE-Night project. The key project goal is for JPL to design, build, test, and deliver 12 PRR reflectors (9 flight units plus 3 spares) to LuSEE-Night by April 2024. LuSEE-Night will produce the finned radiator to which the 9 PRR reflectors will mate. The LuSEE-Night PRR is 0.85 m tall, 1.0 m wide and its target TSINK is 230 K with a 400 K lunar surface. This paper will summarize the status of the PALETTE PRR for LuSEE-Night project at the time of its submission.
Thermal System Design of the Mars Ascent Vehicle for the Mars Sample Return Mission Surface Phase
(51st International Conference on Environmental Systems, 7/10/2022) Morellina, Stefano; Bhandari, Pradeep; Somawardhana, Ruwan; Guernsey, Carl; Karp, Ashley; Lopez, Felix; Junen, Patrick
The Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) is the rocket designed to bring samples from the surface of Mars back to Earth for scientific investigation as part of the Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission. This endeavor would be the first attempt in human history to return a spacecraft with collected material from another planet. Although samples from smaller bodies and interstellar particles have been successfully returned to Earth, return missions from planets present additional challenges to overcome, including the larger gravitational field to access. In this manuscript, we present the baseline architecture and design of the MAV thermal control system necessary to maintain its hardware, including the solid rocket motors, its control and guidance system, and associated avionics within temperature requirements during all flight phases starting from launch until landing and mission completion after successful transfer of the samples to the Earth Return Orbiter. Design challenges are imposed by the cold-biased, large temperature oscillation environment on Mars (in excess of a 100 �C swing during a diurnal cycle), and the limited thermal power generated by the solar panels. The overall thermal design of the MAV includes both passive and active control to survive the harsh conditions on Mars. CO2 gas gap insulation and conductive and radiative heat loss management are the hallmarks of the MAV-to-Lander thermal interface design described in this paper.