The Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group has identified measurements of the state and the variability of the Martian atmosphere as high priority investigations for the upcoming years. Balloon-borne instruments could bridge the gap in both temporal and spatial resolution in mesoscale distances between local, stationary landers and global orbiter observations. The idea to use a balloon system for such a purpose is not new in essence and has been proposed already in past decades. While those concepts considered an aerial deployment during entry and descent, the concept outlined in this study revisits a launch off the payload deck of a lander from the Martian surface. This deployment option profits today mainly from the technological advance in micro-electronics and sensor miniaturization, which enables the design of a balloon-probe significantly smaller than earlier proposed systems. This paper presents the feasibility assessment for this instrument and gives further details on the scientific and operational concept, a strawman sensor suite, its system components and the associated size and budget estimates. It is complemented by the analysis scheme proposed to assess, manage and mitigate the deployment risk involved in automatically launching such a balloon-system off a planetary surface.

This is a report about the simulation study of a lightweight rover being separated from a larger spacecraft in vicinity of a small Solar system body. Monte Carlo simulation and statistical analysis estimate the rate of requirement violation depending on uncertain rover and separation mechanism parameters. During the rover development phase, the full Monte Carlo analysis is only done with a simplified model. The first iterations show relatively high probability of non-compliance with requirements. Model refinement and more precise hardware values lead to the final assessment that separation meets the requirements within a $\sim 2$ ∼ 2 $\sigma $ σ region. Another key result is the identification of relevant and irrelevant effects on the spacecraft rover separation. A more detailed model serves for analysis of selected samples during the development phase. For this model, a full Monte Carlo analysis is only done close to the end once the parameter ranges are fixed, mostly for time reasons. This more detailed analysis in general confirms the $\sim 2$ ∼ 2 $\sigma $ σ requirement meeting. The main difference with the simplified model is the much larger number of outliers, a few of which also violate the allocated volume for the rover in proximity of the mothership.

Small penetrator probes have been proposed regularly as low(er) cost landing elements, particularly for network science. This study reviews such a concept with regard to its soil penetration capability with numerical and experimental investigations. A reference micro Mars lander (MML) is considered to deliver a 10 kg payload to the Martian surface. It decelerates the penetrator probe with a mechanical decelerator to 40–60 m/s before impact. The remaining kinetic energy is distributed to the soil and an internal load limiter on impact, which restricts the maximum g-load acting on the payload. A semi-empirical force–displacement law and a discrete element method simulation were used to describe penetration behavior. Major impact force constituents are the velocity-dependent, drag-like displacement of the soil particles and the compaction of soil along the penetration path. Based on the simulation results, a test penetrator was designed and tested by impacting it on different soil conditions with a maximum impact velocity of 10 m/s. Cohesive Mars soil simulant, non-cohesive quartz sand, and stones of various sizes were used to assess different impact conditions. The comparison of test and simulation data identifies their respective capabilities and limitations. Recommendations for use and findings for further research are deduced therefrom.