Exploration of Pluto with a New-Frontiers-Class Lander or Orbiter Mission
Abstract
With water-ice mountains, expansive glaciers, possible cryovolcanism, and an extended Nitrogen atmosphere, Pluto is a dynamic world shrouded in mystery. Surface features aligned with Pluto's tidal axis suggest that it has a hidden subsurface ocean of liquid water. Pluto could be the most distant "Ocean World" in our solar system. The best way to unravel the mysteries of Pluto is to get as close as possible with a new mission to explore the surface and atmosphere. A low-cost, New-Frontiers-class Pluto lander or orbiter mission with a launch in 2029, Jupiter gravity assist in 2030, and arrival at Pluto in 2040 is possible. The next opportunity for a similar mission will not be possible until a 2042 launch when Jupiter is again positioned for a gravity assist. So how can we land on or orbit Pluto without several hundreds of millions of dollars in nuclear power sources, a next generation launch vehicle, or a massive propulsion system? One way is to launch a probe on a trajectory similar to the Jupiter flyby trajectory of New Horizons, target it for entry at Pluto at 14 km/s, and deploy a large inflatable drag device prior to entry at an altitude of 1600 km. The low density Pluto atmosphere has a scale height of 60 km, nearly 8 times larger than at Earth, enabling atmospheric drag to slowly dissipate the 50 gigajoules of kinetic energy of entry. Only one Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG), currently in production by NASA, is needed to power onboard spacecraft systems. Depending on the trajectory and flight path angle, the probe can either descend to the surface and deliver a 200-kg lander-hopper or insert an orbiter via aerocapture. We deem this architecture Entrycraft. The preliminary results of a NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) study will be presented including the results of the interplanetary and approach mission design; structural, aeroelastic, aerothermodynamic, and thermal modeling; aerodecelerator and lander/hopper system design; and possible orbiter mission design efforts.
- Publication:
-
42nd COSPAR Scientific Assembly
- Pub Date:
- July 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018cosp...42E1230G