Citation
Abstract
This article discusses the analysis of the ultra-high frequency (UHF) communications blackout and brownout experienced by the Mars 2020 entry vehicle during the period around peak heating of its entry, descent, and landing (EDL) phase into the Martian atmosphere on February 18, 2021. The UHF relay links from Mars 2020 to the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and MAVEN orbiter suffered a period of ~60 s of degradation, consisting of a combination of brownout (signal fades) and blackout (complete loss of signal) that coincided with the predicted period of signal degradation from preflight analyses. This article discusses both predictions and measurements of signal degradation that occurred during the peak heating phase of the Mars 2020 EDL. It was found that the model attenuation agreed with measured attenuation, within the factor-of-ten uncertainty of electrons output from the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools used in the analysis for most of the signal-degradation period. For cases where there were higher discrepancies between measured and modeled signal attenuation, we have flagged several items for further study, some of which involve various refinements to the CFD tools identified to improve signal-attenuation modeling.
Details
- Volume
- 42-233
- Published
- May 15, 2023
- Pages
- 1–17
- File Size
- 8.8 MB