Dynamic Simulations of Mars Science Laboratory EDL Landing Loads and Stability

The Mars Science Laboratory is being planned to launch in 2009 to deliver the third generation rover safely to the surface of Mars and conduct comprehensive in situ investigations. To deliver the rover for precision touchdown landing, it requires a new Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) approach using hypersonic aeromaneuver guided entry and skycrane-based powered descent and landing. The skycrane system is capable of efficiently and safely landing a large payload on Mars using a propulsion system configured into a descent stage. The rover will be released from the descent stage via descent-rate-limiter umbilical device and then placed directly onto the surface of Mars. As required by the skycrane landing architecture, the MSL rover is designed as a "lander" to survive touchdown as well as traverse environments. Since it is difficult, costly and, in many cases, impossible to test the skycrane descent and landing system in Mars-like environments, the MSL project relies heavily on dynamic simulations to validate the skycrane landing concept and predict the landing loads and stability of the rover. As a result, a multi-year extensive Loads and Stability Analysis Program has been conducted to develop seamless and robust simulations of the complicated skycrane landing dynamics with a large set of environmental parameters. This paper describes the overall approaches to the MSL touchdown simulation effort, landing loads and stability analysis, rover developmental test program, and applications of both the analysis and testing results to a mass-efficient and landing-capable rover structure design.