American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 1 Mars Precision Landing Using Guided Parachutes

A method for precision landing of manned spacecraft and cargo modules on Mars using guided parachutes was successfully demonstrated in terrestrial tests. A simulation model was developed based on those tests to explore the full capability of this type of system. The Mars Guided Parachute (MGP) concept of minimizing Mars landing site errors was found to be a practical and valuable approach. For this effort, off-the-shelf hardware was selected and assembled. Aerial drop tests were conducted on Earth at Mars-relevant atmospheric densities to collect representative performance data on how well such a system would traverse upon command to a desired landing target. A 3 degree of freedom (3 DoF) model was employed to evaluate a Mars-scaled landing system based on conservative inputs from the terrestrial tests. A wide range of parameters including system design characteristics and wind and navigational errors were perused to explore MGP system capability. Results were extremely favorable