Small-RPS Powered Mars Lander Concept

The Mars Pre-Projects Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is currently developing a small lander concept to address future scientific exploration of Mars. This concept is in line with a multi-lander network to study long-term seismic and atmospheric processes, recommended by the NRC in the SSE Decadal Survey. Each lander would utilize a small Radioisotope Power System (RPS) to generate ~20-25 W(e) of electric power, using a single General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) module that produces ~250 W(t) of thermal power (BOL). The excess heat from the small-RPS must be dissipated throughout all phases of the mission, including Earth storage, launch, cruise, EDL as well as Mars surface operations. A proposed simple and low cost landing system would utilize crushable materials, resulting in a design that could land at any location on Mars, regardless of terrain hazards. However, rough landing would cause an approximately 2000g deceleration load at impact, which must be tolerated by the small-RPS. This load is significantly higher than the 40g requirement for RPSs currently under development. The present study indicates that a small-RPS could expand the capabilities of a small lander, however, the power system should be part of an integrated design along with the science instruments, subsystems and the aeroshell.