Mission profile and design challenges of Mars landing exploration

• Published in: Planetary Remote Sensing and Mapping pp. 75 - 87
• Main Authors: Dong, J., Sun, Z., Rao, W., Jia, Y., Wang, C., Chen, B., Chu, Y.
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: CRC Press 2019
• Edition: 1
• Subjects: Multispectral Camera; Trim Angle; Mach Number; RCS; Reference DEM; Sub-surface Radar; High Resolution DEM; Powered Descent; Single Scattering Albedo; Heat Shield; Parachute Deployment; Landing Site; Panoramic Camera; RFM; Descent Phase; Martian Surface; Landing Platform; Crushable Structure; High - Resolution Imaging Science Experiment; Exploration Missions; Low Resolution DEMs; Wind Relative Velocity; Descent Module; Stereo Photogrammetry; Landing Ellipses
• ISBN: 9781138584150; 1138584150
• DOI: 10.1201/9780429505997-7

Mars is the planet that most closely resembles Earth. Exploring Mars benefits the identification of the origin of life on the planet and potential habitats for human beings. This chapter describes the highlights of the recent Mars landing exploration missions by NASA and the European Space Agency and introduces the first Mars exploration mission from China. Referring to the previous and planned Mars exploration missions, this chapter also presents a preliminary study of the profile design of the first Mars exploration mission from China, including the landing site selection, main engineering constraints and the entry, descent and landing process. Finally, the key challenges and verification of the mission are discussed. The studies presented in this chapter can provide a useful reference for future Mars exploration missions.