**[Items on the left hand side:]{.underline}**

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Mars Technology Program

Program Participants

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Contacts

**[Home]{.underline}**

NASA is pursuing an aggressive, science-driven agenda of robotic
exploration of Mars with a series of orbiters and landers. These
missions carry science instruments selected to answer questions the
planetary science community has posed to better characterize the planet
(See Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group,
[MEPAG](http://mepag.jpl.nasa.gov/)). The overarching objective is
increased understanding with regard to Life, Climate, Geology, and
Preparation for Human Exploration

The rest is fine.

Eliminate future missions link on the left hand side

**[About Us]{.underline}**

JPL has been assigned responsibility as the [Mars Program
Office](http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/) (MPO) by NASA\'s Science
Mission for all its Mars exploration efforts. The Technology element of
the Mars Program is referred to as the Mars Technology Program (MTP).

MTP supports all of NASA\'s efforts to identify and assess technology
solutions, and to develop components, subsystems, systems, and other
products necessary to enable or significantly enhance Mars Program
missions. The Mars Exploration program also benefits from other NASA
technology programs such as the In space Propulsion and the New
Millennium programs.

**[Focused Technology Program]{.underline}**

In the recent past, Mars Technology Program\'s focused technology
included the Mars Exploration Rover (MER). Currently, the Focused
Technology Program supports three upcoming missions baselined for this
decade:

1.  Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO, 2005)

2.  Mars Science Laboratory (MSL, 2009)

3.  Mars Telecom Orbiter (MTO, 2009)

Cecelia: Please remove pin-point landing from this area (i.e., left hand
side link)

**[Base Technology Program]{.underline}**

The core of the Base Technology Program is breakthrough technology
elements that are not in the critical path of specific missions.
Technologies that can enhance baseline missions as well as new, enabling
technologies for future missions are addressed, including Rover
Technology, Mars Science Instruments program,
Telecommunication/Navigation, Planetary Protection, Advanced Entry,
Descent, and Landing, Low Cost Missions technologies, and advanced
Electronics.

Note that Proximity Telecom/navigation should be changed to
Telecom/Navigation on the left had side

**[Partners]{.underline}**

Change Partners to program Participants

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **PARTNERS**                                                          |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ![](media/image1.png){width="0.10486111111111111in"                   |
| height="0.1763888888888889in"}Partial list of current program         |
| participants: Also delete the following sentence.                     |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Mars Technology Program collaborates with and leverages NASA and      |
| non-NASA technology efforts to maximize the return for its            |
| investments.                                                          |
|                                                                       |
| **NASA Partners:**                                                    |
|                                                                       |
| -   Langley Research Center (LaRC)                                    |
|                                                                       |
| -   Ames Research Center (ARC)                                        |
|                                                                       |
| -   Glenn Research Center (GRC)                                       |
|                                                                       |
| -   Johnson Space Center (JSC)                                        |
|                                                                       |
| -   Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)                               |
|                                                                       |
| -   Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)                                |
|                                                                       |
| **Academia:**                                                         |
|                                                                       |
| -   Many universities, including MIT, CMU, USC, University of         |
|     Washington, Washington University, University of Michigan,        |
|     Stanford University, and Caltech.                                 |
|                                                                       |
| **Industry:**                                                         |
|                                                                       |
| -   Numerous participants.                                            |
|                                                                       |
| **Government Institutions:**                                          |
|                                                                       |
| -   Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)                              |
|                                                                       |
| -   Los Alamos National Laboratory                                    |
|                                                                       |
| -   Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), The Johns Hopkins University    |
|                                                                       |
| -   Applied Research Laboratory (ARL), Penn State                     |
|                                                                       |
| -   Sandia National Laboratories                                      |
|                                                                       |
|                                                                       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**[Contacts:]{.underline}**

Samad Hayati Manager, Mars Technology Program

**[Mars Exploration Rover]{.underline}**

Put a hyperlink for MER in the first sentence as:
http://marsrover.jpl.nasa.gov

**[Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter]{.underline}**

The following focused technology tasks are being developed for the [Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter](http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/mro) project.

**[Mars Science Laboratory]{.underline}**

The Mobile Science Lab (MSL) mission will be the gateway mission and is
currently planned for 2009. The MSL mission is intended to push the
state-of-the-art of in situ scientific observations of Mars, demonstrate
several technologies critical to the follow-on Mars Sample Return (MSR)
mission, and provide information vital for implementing the entire MEP.
The MSL mission will take advantage of a rich legacy of remote sensing
observations by targeting a pre-selected site of scientific interest.
The following technologies are being developed for the Mars Science
Laboratory Project.

-   **Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL)** technology will provide a
    precision landing capability (\<10km landing error) and deliver a
    large payload (900-1100 kg) safely onto the Martian surface. These
    technologies are being developed in the specialty areas of guided
    entry, subsonic parachute, descent propulsion, hazard detection and
    avoidance, and robust landing.

List EDL systems tasks here

-   **Flight software** **Systems** for the MSL rover employs Mission
    Data System(MDS)-based software architecture and systems engineering
    methodology. Validation of this software technology involves both
    the MTP research rover platforms and simulated virtual rovers. The
    MDS architecture provides a unified framework and reusable software
    components for flight/ground software.

.......

-   **Long-life systems** capability addresses both the electronic and
    mechanical elements of MSL. The included elements are: an actuator
    assembly for rover wheels and robotic arms, an advanced mechanically
    pumped cooling loop to recycle waste heat from radioisotope power
    sources, and a lightweight wheel/differential. Long-life surface
    system components are designed to operate for 1+ Mars year in the
    Martian environment.

-   **Payload Systems** includes technologies that enable the extraction
    of samples from the environment (coring/abrading), transfer of those
    samples to a sample-processing unit (robotic arm controls), and
    processing of the samples for delivery to the onboard science
    instruments (rock crushing and sample distribution). Planetary
    Protection addresses biological contamination control technologies
    for meeting the planetary protection requirements for MSL. This
    includes the deployment of a rapid validation method for enumerating
    spores (4 hours instead of 3 days) and cleaning/maintenance methods
    for achieving organic cleanliness (10-9 g/cm2) of the MSL sample
    handling/analysis chain.

-   **Rover navigation and instrument placement** provides advanced
    navigation and approach-and-emplace capability, which allows the MSL
    rover to extend its mobility range beyond 5km and achieve single-sol
    target approach and instrument placement. (A \"sol\" is a Martian
    day.)

**[Advanced Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL)]{.underline}**

Beyond MSL, Mars missions may need the capability to land much closer to
a desired target and/or advanced methods of detecting, avoiding, or
tolerating landing hazards.  The solicitation supported the development
of technologies needed for technology development includes "pinpoint
landing" (within tens of meters to 1 km of a target site), and advanced
hazard detection/avoidance in the area of Advanced Entry, Descent, and
Landing (EDL) as follows:

Pinpoint Landing 

-   Methodologies suitable for use in both advanced hypersonic entry
    guidance and aerocapture guidance;

-   Methodologies for autonomously compensating for wind drift on a
    parachute or other drag device during low altitude, low speed
    flight;

-   Methodologies (including sensors) suitable for autonomous onboard
    identification of a preselected landing site from a stored onboard
    terrain map, and guidance and navigation to the site; and 

-   Methodologies for navigation with radiometric data involving the use
    of orbiting "beacon" spacecraft, and for filtering of radiometric
    and/or sensor-based tracking data for autonomous navigation during
    entry, descent, and landing.

Hazard Detection/Avoidance 

-   Development of advanced active terrain mapping sensor providing
    increased range (\>5 km), higher ranging accuracy (better than 5 m
    at 2 km and 0.04 meter at 80 m) higher field of regard (\> 10x10
    deg), high frame rate (\>1 Hz), and

-   Algorithms to interpret sensor data or fuse data from multiple
    sensors, to detect and/or avoid hazards, and/or to select sites that
    are safe and traversable by rovers.

**[Technologies for Low Cost Missions]{.underline}**

This technology area supports all future Mars missions, and specifically
focuses on Scout missions which are competed by NASA. Several different
technologies are needed to enable various types of low cost missions to
be developed and flown.

While not all potentially beneficial technologies have been solicited or
funded, the following classes of technologies were considered for
funding, and several promising candidates selected.

[Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) for small entry probes]{.underline}

Small entry probes present unique challenges since their severe mass,
power, and volume constraints generally mean less accurate EDL
capabilities than larger systems currently envisioned in the future Mars
Exploration Program (MEP).  Therefore, increasing the EDL capabilities
of small probes could lead to future breakthroughs in low cost
missions. 

[Lightweight propulsion components]{.underline}

The propulsion system constitutes a large fraction of any low cost
mission mass. Reducing the mass and power of the propulsion system
allows more payload and more science to be accomplished.  Examples of
important propulsion system technologies are low mass tanks, filters,
regulators, and valves.  Optimized thrusters for lower mass systems
require lower minimum impulse bit control.  Finally, increases in
propellant performance (I~sp~) would reduce the required propellant
mass.

[Aerial vehicle technology]{.underline}

Aerial vehicles (defined here as airplanes and balloons) require robust,
lightweight deployment technologies.  For this class of low cost
missions, deployment most likely occurs during the descent phase.  Also
critical to this type of low cost mission is guidance and navigation
during the atmospheric flight. 

[Mars Surface Solar Power Technologies]{.underline}

Landers, rovers, and aerial vehicles will benefit from technologies that
will increase power levels and prolong the useful life of space solar
power systems.  Technologies to provide high efficiency solar cell
system, as well as practical (low power, low mass) dust mitigation
techniques, are included.

**[Subsurface Access]{.underline}**

The main goal of the Subsurface Access Area is to develop technologies
to explore the Martian subsurface. This includes ground-based subsurface
mapping techniques such as ground penetrating radar devices; methods of
physical access to subsurface samples such as coring and sampling
drills; and subsurface instrumentation such as borehole spectrometers.
General instrument development is included in the Mars Instrument
Development Program (MIDP).

Some of these systems involve the development of science instruments
that can be brought to a subsurface sample. Others bring samples from
the subsurface to elements on the surface. Drilling depths of interest
may be roughly classified as shallow (less than one meter), moderate
(greater than one meter and less than 50 meters) and deep (greater than
50 meters). All of these technologies must function in the unique
environment of the Martian subsurface. This drives the development of
rugged, low-mass, low-power designs that must be highly autonomous.

Given the increased uncertainties associated with operating such
systems, these tasks aim to bring enabling technologies to high
Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) so that they may be readily utilized
by future missions. In most cases, achieving this high level of maturity
will necessitate field testing as well as other relevant environmental
tests.

[Planetary Protection]{.underline}

Planetary protection aims to preserve the biological and organic
conditions of the solar system bodies for future exploration and at the
same time protect the Earth from potential extraterrestrial
contamination. Planetary protection requirements for each mission are
based on the types of encounter it will have (flyby, orbiter, or lander)
and the potential of the mission's destination to provide insight into
the origin of life. To implement planetary protection requirements, we
need to advance current technologies to satisfy planetary protection
requirements for surface, subsurface and atmospheric missions as well as
those technologies that allow sample acquisition for in situ life
detection or sample return. These technologies include
cross-contamination risk assessment and prevention; pre-launch bioburden
reduction and validation; heating of orbital debris during atmospheric
entry at Mars; and sample return issues including containment, handling
and sample analysis. 

**[Mars Science Instrument Development Program]{.underline}**

The main objective of MIDP (Mars Instrument Development Project) is to
develop ground demonstrated miniature instruments that are at Technology
Readiness Level (TRL) 3 into space qualifiable hardware (6); ready for
response to Mars missions Announcement of Opportunity (AO).

Most of the existing instrument R&D programs (e.g., PIDDP) only support
up to breadboard level (TRL 3, 4) and there is a need to carry such
instruments to flight qualifiable status to respond to flight AO. Often
the flight AO has only limited time and financial resources, and can not
afford such hardware development processes. Thus the aim of the MIDP
task is to bridge the existing gap between instrument R&D programs and
hardware requirements for flight programs.

All the instruments being developed under MIDP have been selected
through a highly competitive NRA process, and employ state-of-the-art
technology. For example, 16 Instruments and 11 Instruments have been
selected in FY 2002 and 2003 respectively (ROSS 2002 and 2003). Working
with PIs, JPL has been managing the MIDP tasks since September 1998.
When matured, the MIDP instruments will significantly enhance Mars
Exploration capability.

Depending on instrument maturity, Mars Technology Program will arrange
integration of instruments with an available rover (K9 Rover, FIDO,
Rocky 7 or Rocky 8) and test in a Simulated Environment.