[1] The Phoenix mission, launched on 4 August 2007, landed in the far northern plains of Mars on 25 May 2008. In order to prepare for the landing events and the 90-sol mission, a significant amount of work has gone into characterizing the atmospheric environment at this location on Mars for northern late spring through midsummer. In this paper we describe the motivation for the work and present our results on atmospheric densities and winds expected during the Phoenix entry, descent, and landing, as well as near-surface pressure, temperature, winds, surface temperature, and visible optical depth expected over the course of the science mission.

A method for determining margins in conceptual-level design via probabilistic methods is described. The goal of this research is to develop a rigorous foundation for determining design margins in complex multidisciplinary systems. As an example application, the investigated method is applied to conceptual-level design of the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) cruise stage thermal control system. The method begins with identifying a set of tradable system-level parameters.Models that determine each of these tradable parameters are then created. The variables of the design are classified and assigned appropriate probability density functions. To characterize the resulting system, a Monte Carlo simulation is used. Probabilistic methods can then be used to represent uncertainties in the relevant models. Lastly, results of this simulation are combined with the risk tolerance of thermal engineers to guide in the determination of margin levels. The method is repeated until the thermal engineers are satisfied with the balance of system-level parameter values. For the thermal control example presented, margins for maximum component temperatures, dry mass, power required, schedule, and cost form the set of tradable system-level parameters. Use of this approach for the example presented yielded significant differences between the calculated design margins and the values assumed in the conceptual design of the MER cruise stage thermal control system.

The active Heat Rejection System designed for Mars Pathfinder was modified for the Mars Exploration Rover (Mars '03) mission and will be used to remove excess heat from the Rover electronics during the cruise part of the mission. The Integrated Pump Assembly design from MPF remained essentially intact; changes were primarily made to reduce weight. However, the cooling loop was significantly redesigned to service totally different requirements for the MER rovers. In addition, the vent design was readdressed to alleviate potentially excessive nutation as was induced on the MPF spacecraft in the process of dumping the R11 overboard prior to Entry/Descent/Landing. The current vent design was based on a better understanding of the flow characteristics during the blowdown process. This paper addresses some of the key design changes. This paper also addresses lessons learnt from the performance testing, and potential changes to improve the HRS performance (e.g, temperature oscillations).

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The primary objective of the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) 2003 Project focused on the search for evidence of water on Mars. The launch of two identical flight systems occurred in June and July of 2003. The roving science vehicles are expected to land on the Martian surface in early and late January of 2004, respectively. The flight system design inherited many successfully features and approaches from the Mars Pathfinder Mission. This included the use of a mechanically-pumped fluid loop, known as the Heat Rejection System (HRS), to transport heat from the Rover to radiators on the Cruise Stage during the quiescent trek to Mars. While the heritage of the HRS was evident, application of this system for MER presented unique and difficult challenges with respect to hardware implementation. We will discuss these hardware challenges in each HRS hardware element: the integrated pump assembly, cruise stage HRS, lander HRS, and Rover HRS. These challenges span the entire development cycle including fabrication, assembly, and test. We will conclude by citing the usefulness of this system during launch operations, where in particular, the flight hardware inside the Rover was thermally conditioned by the HRS since there was no other effective means of maintaining its temperature. MISSION OVERVIEW & SPACECRAFT CONFIGURATIONIn August 2000, with less than three years to launch, NASA formally approved a dual rover mission to Mars. The Project was named the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Project. The primary mission objectives were to determine the aqueous, climatic, and geologic history of a pair of sites on Mars where the conditions may have been favorable to the preservation of evidence of pre-biotic or biotic processes. The primary missions requirements were to deliver two identical rovers to the surface of Mars in order to conduct geologic and atmospheric investigations for at least FIGURE 1. Flight System Configuration Internally Nests Rover.