Beagle 2: Background information

Transcription

1 Beagle 2: Background information

2 Basic Facts By Professor Mark Sims, former Beagle 2 Mission Manager and Dr. Jim Clemmet, former Beagle 2 Chief Engineer (until 2003). (Reference Beagle 2 Guide book by Colin Pillinger, Mark Sims and Jim Clemmet, Open University published 2003). Dates Launched: 2nd June 2003, 17:45 GMT Ejected from Mars Express: 19th December 2003, 08:31 Expected Entry Time into Mars Atmosphere: 25th December 2003, 02:51:22 Landing Site Isidis Planitia 11.6 N, W (90.5 E) Beagle 2 Mass Probe Mass including Entry Descent and Landing System: 68.84kg Lander: 33.2kg Entry Descent and Landing System: 35.6kg Spin-Up and Eject Mechanism (SUEM) and Spacecraft Interfaces: 4.88kg Total Mass: 73.72kg Artist s impression of Isidis Planitia. Credit: Illustration by Medialab, ESA 2001.

3 Beagle 2: Lander This image shows the Beagle 2 Lander full deployed. The base section lower left is the heaviest section and hence should be in line with and lying flat on any surface even it is reasonable slope. The lid (middle) is where the UHF antenna is and this section is surrounded by the four panels. Dimensions Base section external diameter: 660mm Base section depth: 80mm Base-Lid-Solar Panel axis: ~1900mm Solar Panel-Lid-Solar Panel Axis: ~1600mm Solar Panels: Pentagon Shaped: ~570mm in diameter Offset Angle between panels, and base: 72 Lid Depth: ~30mm Solar Panels Deployment Angle with respect to Vertical (base): ~160 Surface Colours prior to Launch and Landing on Mars Panels ~85% GaAs solar cells probably blue in colour on clear kapton faced black Carbon Reinforced Plastic (CRFP), note shiny on rear. Solar Panel Deployment Sequence This occurs after lid opens. Order of opening shown below by numbering. Base Section Gold Multi-Layer Insulation (MLI) covering ~2/3 of it. Lid Section Black CRFP with square slot pictureframe antenna (AstroQuartz) ~500mm a side which is orange/yellow but not highly reflective in colour.

4 Beagle 2 Heat-Shield Diameter: 934mm Height: ~225mm Outside Surface Coating: Ablated Norcoat Liege Cork and a cork colour Inside Coating: MLI Aluminium/Silver Colour Mass: 9.78kg Beagle 2 (EDL) Rear-Cover Truncated Cone Shaped (trapezoidal cross-section) Largest Diameter: ~900mm Smallest Diameter: ~ 400mm Depth: ~310mm Outside Surface: Black MLI above Norcoat Liege Cork, MLI probably burnt off or detached Mass: 9.55kg at launch including pilot chute mortar Pilot Chute Deployed diameter: 1920mm Total length with rigging (6.3m) and strops (2.2m): (~8.5m) Colour: White Note: Pilot Chute should be still attached to rear-cover Mass: 0.5kg Main Chute Deployed diameter: 10000mm (10m) Rigging lines: 11000mm (11m) Strop Length: 30000mm (30m) Translucent White (very low mass spinnaker nylon) High likely to collapse to a relatively compact object ~metres in size Mass: 2.76kg Air Bags Three bags Orange segment shape 120 segments, 1930mm long, ~965mm per side of segment Colour: Yellow/Tan Airbag likely distance from lander: ~10m (but with high uncertainty) Mass: 12.9kg Number of bounces ~15 Total distance travelled during bouncing ~ m (but with high uncertainty) First bounce length ~100m Beagle 2 with shield in action. Credit: ESA Illustration by Medialab.

5 Entry, Descent and Landing Sequence Entry, Descent and Landing Sequence (with timings)

6 About the Beagle 2 Team Beagle 2 was the UK s first mission to another planet. The project was a partnership between the Open University, the University of Leicester and EADS Astrium (UK) (now Airbus Defence and Space). Other funding partners included the European Space Agency (ESA), the Office of Science and Technology of the Department of Trade and Industry, the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC), the Wellcome Trust, the National Space Centre and the Millennium Commission. See and About HiRISE and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HiRISE is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson. The instrument was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. of Boulder, Colorado. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project is managed for NASA s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, by NASA s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, a division of the California Institute of Technology, also in Pasadena. See and About the European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe s gateway to space. ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. ESA has 20 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, of whom 18 are Member States of the EU. Two other Member States of the EU, Hungary and Estonia, are likely soon to become new ESA Member States. ESA has Cooperation Agreements with six other Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement. ESA is also working with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes. By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. ESA develops the launchers, spacecraft and ground facilities needed to keep Europe at the forefront of global space activities.

7 Today, it develops and launches satellites for Earth observation, navigation, telecommunications and astronomy, sends probes to the far reaches of the Solar System and cooperates in the human exploration of space. Learn more about ESA at About the UK Space Agency The UK Space Agency is at the heart of UK efforts to explore and benefit from space. The UK s thriving space sector contributes 11.3 billion a year to the UK economy and directly employs 34,300. The Agency is responsible for all strategic decisions on the UK civil space programme and provides a clear, single voice for UK space ambitions. The Agency is responsible for ensuring that the UK retains and grows a strategic capability in the space-based systems, technologies, science and applications. It leads the UK s civil space programme in order to win sustainable economic growth, secure new scientific knowledge and provide benefits to all citizens.