A preliminary study to determine the total mass and power requirements of a manned Mars rover is presented. Estimates of the power requirements for the nuclear reactor power system are determined as functions of the number of crew members, the emergency return trip scenario in case of a total malfunction of the reactor system, the cruising speed and range of the vehicle, and the specific mass of the power system. It is shown that the cruising speed of the vehicle and the soil traction factor significantly affect the traversing power requirement and therefore the mass of the nuclear power system. The cruising speed of the vehicle must be limited to 14.5 and 24 km/hr for power system specific masses of 150 kg/kWe and 50 kg/kWe, respectively, for the nuclear power system mass not to exceed 50 percent of the total mass of the rover.


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    Title :

    Preliminary assessment of the power requirements of a manned rover for Mars missions


    Contributors:

    Conference:

    Space 90: The Second International Conference ; 1990 ; Albuquerque, NM, United States


    Publication date :

    1990-01-01


    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English