EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY ROBOTIC EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGY PLAN Programme of Work 2009-2014 SUMMARY This document presents the currently proposed activities in the Technology Research Programme (TRP), the Exploration Technology Programme (ETP, funded by MREP) and the Aurora Core Programme (ACP) that are supporting the implementation of ESA’s Robotic Exploration Programme from 2009-2014. This document is provided for information only and is subject to future updates. December 2011 Page 2 Page 2- Intentionally left blank Page 3 1 Background and Scope The ESA Robotic Exploration Programme The programme proposal MREP (Mars Robotic Exploration Preparation) ESA/PB-HME (2008)43.Rev.1) was widely supported at the last C-Min by ESA Participating States. The MREP programme objective is to build, in the medium-term, a European Robotic Exploration Programme, by concentrating first on Mars exploration and by making use of international collaboration, in particular with NASA. The general approach is to consider a Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission as a long-term objective and to progress step by step towards this objective through short and medium-term MSR-related technology developments, which are validated during intermediate missions, and by developing Long Term enabling technologies, such as Novel Power Systems (NPS) and Propulsion engines. This technology work plan is the yearly update of the Robotic Exploration work plan. The previous version (ESA/PB-HME(2010)81 and ESA/IPC(2010)136) was approved in November 2010 and defined the activities that are being implemented in 2011. As for the previous plans, the programme of work was built using the ESA TECNET (TEChnology NETwork) process, in coordination with activities planned in other Directorates in particular HSO, and using for the best the industrial and internal studies achieved so far for Mars future missions. The work plan makes use essentially of MREP and TRP budgets, possibly complemented with the Strategic Initiative budget. The work plan also includes a few activities inherited from the previous Aurora Core Programme and related to Mars robotic exploration. For the specific case of the MREP optional programme, which is in its last stage of implementation, this work plan is expected to be the last update before the next C-Min(2012), A summary of the MREP programme implementation status can be found in PB- HME(2011)12 and PB-HME(2011)43. The remaining industrial budget in MREP is close to 3 M€ and is fully covered by this work plan, with the objective to kick-off the corresponding Exploration Technology Programme (ETP) activities by June 2012. The work plan includes a moderate over-programming for enabling some activities to be funded by Strategic Initiative budget and to cope with implementation delays. A substantial effort was spent when revisiting the activities and defining new ones for meeting the MREP geo-return requirements, while preserving competition and sufficient implementation margins. In very specific cases, special measures are being considered. Activities that will not have been initiated for budget availability reasons may be revisited in future versions of the work plan and could be re-submitted to PB-HME and IPC approval following C-Min(2012). The Robotic Exploration Programme currently foresees four mission candidates for the post- Exomars launch slots (2020/2022), to be presented to the PB-HME for down-selection in early 2012 (see PB-HME(2011)13 for further details). The candidate missions currently being considered are: Page 4 1. Network Science mission (4-6 probes), possibly including a high precision landing demonstration 2. Sample return from a moon of Mars (Deimos or Phobos) 3. Precision lander (< ~10 km) with sampling/fetching rover 4. MSR orbiter Missions 1 to 3 are alternatives to cope with possible MSR delays, and could be envisaged as Europe-only or Europe-led missions. Missions 3 and 4 are possible MSR segments under Europe lead. Assessment industrial system studies have been initiated in 2010 for the following: 1. Precision lander (< ~10 km) with sampling/fetching rover 2. MSR orbiter For the two other missions, very similar missions have been studied in the near past through a number of industrial contracts. Nevertheless, ESA is running focussed complementary studies for timely producing the technical and programmatic inputs for supporting the PB-HME discussions and decision. The activities in this Technology Development Plan (TDP) have been grouped by MSR technology areas covering the potential European participation to MSR. These technology themes are naturally also relevant to the candidate missions. The Network Science mission is identified separately and the related activities cover the technologies related to the delivery of small landers onto the Martian surface (40-60 kg landed mass). Programme Implementation The MREP Programme technology developments can be grouped by the time period available for their implementation, which in turn directs the scheduling of the Technology Development Activities (TDAs): i) Short-term technology developments, in relation to the Network science landers mission preparation, which will serve the scientific and technological preparation of MSR. The aim of these developments is to reach Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5 for the space segment, prior to the decision of implementing the mission, therefore prior to entering phases B2/C/D for the spacecraft. The requested TRL is the minimum required for entering the Development Phase with controlled schedule and cost. ii) Medium-term technology developments, in preparation for the post-2020 intermediate missions and MSR. These developments initiate MSR related technologies for the potential European contribution to this mission. Some of these developments are a continuation of activities started within the previous Aurora Core Programme. iii) Long-term technology developments, which are defined as strategic and enabling technology developments for European robotic exploration. In line with the C-Min(2008) Page 5 MREP proposal, the work plan focuses the effort on Novel Power Sources using radioisotope heat generation and a high thrust apogee engine for improving the spacecraft insertion in Mars orbit. These long-term developments require an extended development effort (~7-9 years) and sustained budgets. Robotic exploration missions would naturally take advantage of these developments when they are completed. Network Exomars IM2 or MSR Science? 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 >2025 Short term Network Science mission critical MSR Precision landing, Autonomous Medium term Rendezvous, Planetary Protection, Earth re- entry Long term Nuclear Power and Propulsion MREP Programme Technology Development Timeline 2 The Robotic Exploration Technology Development Plan 2.1 Technology Development Plan (TDP) This update of the TDP mainly concerns the following: 1. Addition of new TRP activities for implementation in 2012. 2. Modification of 2011 ETP activities and addition of 2012 ETP activities considering the current implementation status and outcome from mission studies. On the programmatic side, the work plan is structured to achieve a satisfactory geographic return for the Member States participating to MREP. The present document covers three main topics: i) Network mission critical technologies: Section 2.3 describes a Network Science landers mission, which could be launched in 2020. The activities have been defined by considering current ExoMars developments and by relying on the MarsNEXT industrial studies and on an additional internal study made by mid 2009 in coordination with NASA/JPL. ii) MSR critical technologies: Sections 2.4 to 2.9 outline the major technology themes in preparation of MSR mission and covering European potential contribution to this mission. A number of new activities are proposed here, grouped by technology themes, and taking best benefit of the activities that have been conducted within the framework of Aurora since 2003. The technology themes for MSR are the following: - Precision Landing - Robotics, rover and mechanism technologies - Planetary protection related activities Page 6 - Mars ascent vehicle (no activities proposed at this stage) - Autonomous rendezvous and sample capture in-orbit - Earth re-entry technologies Consideration has been given to the development logic for phasing and structuring the activities in a consistent manner. For that purpose and for the case of elaborated activity proposals, technology roadmaps are provided with a 2014 horizon. The activities proposed here are the minimum required in the 2011-2014 timeframe to bring the technologies to a sufficient Technology Readiness Level (TRL) in order to enable flight demonstrations of individual components and systems from 2020 onwards. They do not pre-figure the missions to be implemented from 2022 onwards. iii) Long-term enabling technologies: These activities are described in Section 2.10 and were already addressed in the previous versions of the work plan (June and November 2009, November 2010). The NPS developments aim at acquiring novel power sources in Europe, both electrical and thermal, using heat produced by radioisotope alpha–decay. A major step was achieved in 2010 activities by identifying Am(241) as a plausible and affordable radioisotope candidate for a European NPS. Following these encouraging results, the activities foreseen on radioisotope production demonstration, launcher accommodation and safety aspects and on power conversion have been maintained and are currently in implementation. The objective is to reach C-Min(2012) with a global understanding of the NPS requirements and of investment needs. Notes on the Annexes to this TDP: 1. Annex I consists of summary tables listing all the TDAs that are approved and proposed within the Robotic Exploration Programme for the period 2009-2014. 2. Annex II consists of detailed descriptions of all the approved and proposed TDAs listed in the tables in Annex I, except for the “Removed activities”. 2.2 Critical Technologies Table 2-1 lists the critical technologies, as currently defined, needed to implement the Robotic Exploration Programme for 2009-2014. Where useful, graphic representations of the technology roadmaps are provided, giving a rough overview and context of the individual activities. Details on the content, funding and duration are provided in the Annexes to this TDP. Category Technology Area Technology Development Activities EDLS GNC Optimisation and validation for small Mars landers Network Science Mission including possible new EDL sensors/triggers EDL & GNC Other required EDL technologies such as subsonic parachutes, retro- rocket system, unvented airbags and lowering system Page 7 Investigations to optimize low temperature batteries, solar cells Power optimized for Mars, dust removal systemsand power regulators. Tailored On-Board Computer EM for OBC planetary landers together with a low power timer Lander Compact Dual UHF/X-band Communications Frequency Communication Package Precision landing GNC optimisation Sensors (IMU, vision and lidar) for EDL & GNC precision landing Hazard avoidance technologies Throttleable engine for soft landing Sample Fetch Rover technologies Robotics and sampling mechanism Mars Sample Return Integrated GNC solution with sensors Autonomous Rendezvous and Capture Sample Canister capture mechanism development High temperature TPS Earth Re-Entry Capsule Shock absorbing structure Biocontainment system development Planetary protection Sample receiving facility preparation Propulsion High thrust engine Isotope evaluation, production, encapsulation and launch safety Long-term Technologies Nuclear Power aspects. Thermo-electric and Stirling converters Table 2-1: Critical technologies needed to implement the Robotic Exploration Programme for 2009-2014 Page 8 2.3 Network Science Landers The Network Science Mission concept addresses key science goals on Mars that can only be achieved by simultaneous measurements from a number of landers, which are spaced across the surface of the planet. The primary objectives of such a mission concern a planet’s internal geophysics and its meteorology. In addition coordinated studies at a number of landing sites provide vital information on the geology and geochemistry of the planet. The mission is one of the post-ExoMars candidate missions. It is being envisaged as “Europe led” with no strategic elements outside Europe. Within the MREP programme, a Science Definition Team (SDT) was convened in spring 2011, to provide the science case for this mission together with strawman science instrumentation. This outcome is used for an ESA internal Concurrent Design Facility (CDF) study in the autumn of 2011, where different potential mission scenarios are studied, based on previous internal and external studies (Netlander, MarsNEXT, MarsGEN, etc). The different potential mission scenarios investigated assume : o Soyuz launch from Kourou in 2020-2026 timeframe o Mission scenarios with or without a dedicated Network Science orbiter. The data relay function could be provided by an existing orbiting asset. o Number of landers variable between 2-5 depending on the size of the landers and the need for a dedicated orbiter o Addition of a potential technology demonstrator for precision landing Figure 1 gives a potential mission overview including a dedicated orbiter. Figure 1: Potential Mission Architecture for a Network Science Mission The mission assumptions used to derive the technology plan are summarised in Table 2-2. Page 9 Mission  Soyuz single launch  Direct insertion or transfer via GTO  Lander release from hyperbolic orbit up to 23 days before Mars entry  Carrier end of life or orbit insertion manoeuvre Mission To deploy a network of science landers on the Martian surface objectives To demonstrate key technological capabilities for Mars robotic exploration. Landers Between 2 and 6 Network science landers Each lander in the ~170kg range and requiring the simplest possible and robust entry, descent and landing system. One lander could optionally employ precision (<10 km) landing technologies. Payload mass: ~8 kg Survival of 1 Martian year (including dust storm season) UHF relay compatible with existing and planned orbiters (e.g. Exomars TGO) X-band direct to Earth for EDL communications, contingency and science Optional Lifetime: 3 Earth years (nominal) + 3 Earth years (extended) Orbiter Payload mass: ~33 kg Requires aerobraking Data relay capability for the landers Planetary Category IVa for the landers and Category III for the orbiter protection Table 2-2: Network Science Mission assumptions To support this mission, a 3-year technology development plan has been initiated, aiming at TRL ≥ 5 prior to Phase B2/C/D. The key technology developments for enabling this mission concentrate on the Entry, Descent and Landing system. These are complemented by developments improving the power, communications and thermal system for the network science landers, to ensure a sufficient number of probes can be delivered to the surface and operate for an extended period. NOTE: The technology plan described here for the Network Science mission takes into account the technology developments envisaged for the 2016 Exomars Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) Demonstrator Module (EDM). 2.3.1 TDAs proposed for 2012 Budget ESA Ref. Activity Title 2012 T903-014EP Characterisation of space and terrestrial cells for future Mars lander/rover missions 200 E915-001MS Lowering system Breadboard for Mars landers 500 E903-012EP Solar Power Regulator Breadboard for Mars Surface Missions 300 E905-001EC Aerobraking Flight Representative Demonstrator 350 E906-003ET Compact dual UHF/X-band Proximity-1 Communication EM – Phase 2 800 Page 10 Power Solar power is a key technology for the small lander mission. The mission will use the best available space solar cell technology at the time (expected to be the 30% triple junction GaAs cells), however a better understanding of the actual performance of such cells under Martian environmental conditions is required in order to base the assumptions for solar array and power system sizing. An activity will be initiated to characterise the 30% space cells in Martian conditions but also simultaneously characterise the performance of the best available terrestrial cells that may in the future be adapted for use as optimised Mars solar cells. A further important development to be initiated is the Solar Power regulator development which will breadboard a Maximum Power Point Tracker device for improving the overall efficiency of the solar power generation and distribution system. 2.3.2 TDAs planned for 2013-2014 Follow-on activities in support of the technology preparation for the network science mission are planned for the 2013-2014 timeframe (see roadmap in Figure 2 and Annexes I and II for further details of these TDAs). These include activities in the area of GNC and EDL systems.