A Venus Rover Capable of Long Life Surface Operations

Access to the surface of Venus would allow planetary scientists to address a number of currently open questions. Among these are the elemental and mineralogical composition of the surface; the interaction of the surface with the atmosphere; the atmospheric composition, especially isotope ratios of key species; the nature of the planetary volcanism (present activity, emissions to the atmosphere, and composition); planetary seismicity; the local surface meteorology (winds and pressure variability); and the surface geology and morphology at particular locations on the surface. A long lived Venus rover mission could be enabled by utilizing a novel Stirling engine system for both cooling and electric power. Previous missions to the Venus surface, including the Pioneer Venus and Venera missions, survived for only a few hours. The rover concept described in the present study is designed for a surface lifetime of 60 days, with the potential of operating well beyond that. A Thermo-Acoustic Stirling Heat Engine (TASHE) would convert the high-temperature (~1200 °C) heat from General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) modules into acoustic power which then drives a linear alternator and a pulse tube cooler to provide electric power and remove the large environmental heat load. The "cold" side of the engine would be furnished by the ambient atmosphere at 460 °C. This short study focused on the feasibility of using the TASHE system in this hostile environment to power a ~650 kg rover that would provide a mobile platform for science measurements. The instrument suite would collect data on atmospheric and surface composition, surface stratigraphy, and subsurface structure. An Earth-Venus-Venus trajectory would be used to deliver the rover to a low entry angle allowing an inflated ballute to provide a low deceleration and low heat descent to the surface. All rover systems would be housed in a pressure vessel in vacuum with the internal temperature maintained by the TASHE below 50 °C. No externally deployed or articulated components would be used and penetrations through the pressure vessel are minimized. Science data would be returned direct to Earth using S-Band to minimize atmospheric attenuation.