Marvin- Near Surface Methane Detection on Mars

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for a methane detection mission on Mars has been conceptually designed for a science mission in support of the search for life on Mars. Methane being one of the indicators of life, it seeks to identify areas of high methane concentration as well as to create a high resolution map of the methane concentration over as large an area as possible. Integrated product and process design methodology (IPPD) has been applied and included the use of a house of quality to rank importance, as well as Pugh and TOPSIS analyses to rank feasible alternatives. The output of the design process is that an airship is most suitable for this mission. The use of an airship allows for long endurance, which is a requirement for mapping a large surface area, as well as a low minimum speed, which allows for a higher resolution map. This design decision led to the preliminary design of an airship and the mission itself. Sizing and Mass Estimation indicates that due to the rare atmosphere and lower than Earth gravity on Mars, the Airship size can be colossal, which poses difficulties. An interplanetary fast transfer trajectory has been chosen for launch atop a Delta II 7925H. The payload will be encased within an aeroshell analogous to the one used on the Mars Exploratory Rovers (MER) mission and an identical Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) using parachute and airbag landing procedure will be performed. The encasing within the airbag will house a ground station with transceivers and hydrogen gas tanks that can be jettisoned along with Marvin the Airship in a deflated and packed form. Upon initial inflation using hydrogen gas, Marvin shall set off on the methane detection mission within the Elysium Planitia region on Mars. The H₂ gas within the envelope will maintain static lift. Refilling through the connection at the airship bottom will be required every 3^rd Earth day if altitude is to not decrease below 50 meters from an initial calculate- d altitude of 78 meters. An innovative pulse jet method using hydrogen gas to propel the Airship has been described. All instrumentation including the spectrometer, anti-collision sensing device and video cameras will be mounted on the gondola attached to the bottom of Marvin by tethers. A tethered anchor for braking, with a miniature actuation motor will be mounted at its bottom. Mission life of two months has been chosen. Mission cost is projected to be US$ 350-430 M. The concept is shown in Figure 1.