Engineering & Exploring the Red Planet • Anita Sengupta & Kamal Oudrhiri • YOW! 2015

This presentation was recorded at YOW! 2017. #GOTOcon #YOW https://yowcon.com Anita Sengupta - Research Professor at University of Southern California @spacegirl2020 Kamal Oudrhiri - RESOURCES Anita https://bsky.app/profile/dranitasengupta.bsky.social https://anitasengupta.com https://twitter.com/Doctor_Astro https://linkedin.com/in/anitasen Kamal https://coldatomlab.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/kamal-oudrhiri https://x.com/KOudrhiri https://www.linkedin.com/in/kamal-oudrhiri-221175233 ABSTRACT On August 5th 2012, NASA landed its most capable robotic geologist on the surface of the Red Planet. The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission landed a 2000 lb rover, the size of a compact car, to explore the planes of Mars. The rover, aptly named Curiosity, will search for organic compounds, characterize the climate and geology, and continue the search for life. One of the most challenging aspects of the mission, from an engineering perspective, was safely landing the rover on the surface. The entry descent and landing (EDL) system used a heat shield to accommodate its hypersonic entry conditions, followed by a supersonic parachute, and eight retro rockets for the powered descent phase. For its final terminal descent, a maneuver called the sky crane was used where the rover was lowered on tethers for touchdown. The talk will describe the motivation for Mars Exploration and how the MSL EDL engineering challenges were tackled with computational modeling and cutting edge experimental techniques. RECOMMENDED BOOKS NASA • NASA Systems Engineering Handbook • https://amzn.to/3FWjqhR Bernice Kastner • Space Mathematics • https://amzn.to/3oQCDKF Kellie Gerardi • Not Necessarily Rocket Science • https://amzn.to/3CW4HS9 Piers Bizony & Roger D. Launius • NASA Space Shuttle: 40th Anniversary • https://amzn.to/3xgsNWh https://bsky.app/profile/gotocon.com https://twitter.com/GOTOcon https://www.linkedin.com/company/goto- https://www.instagram.com/goto_con https://www.facebook.com/GOTOConferences #NASA #Space #SpaceTravel #Mars #MarsTravel #AnitaSengupta #Hydrogen #HydrogenFuelcell #Fuelcell #Science #RocketScience #HydrogenPowered #Protium #Interplanetary #InterplanetaryCruise #YOWcon CHANNEL MEMBERSHIP BONUS Join this channel to get early access to videos & other perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs_tLP3AiwYKwdUHpltJPuA/join Looking for a unique learning experience? Attend the next GOTO conference near you! Get your ticket at https://gotopia.tech Sign up for updates and specials at https://gotopia.tech/newsletter SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL - new videos posted almost daily. https://www.youtube.com/user/GotoConferences/?sub_confirmation=1