High-mass planetary surface access is one of NASA's Grand Challenges involving entry, descent, and landing (EDL). Heat shields fabricated in-situ can provide a thermal protection system for spacecraft that routinely enter a planetary atmosphere. Fabricating the heat shield from extraterrestrial regolith will avoid the costs of launching the heat shield mass from Earth. This project investigated three methods to fabricate heat shield using extraterrestrial regolith and performed preliminary work on mission architectures.
Regolith-Derived Heat Shield for Planetary Body Entry and Descent System with In-Situ Fabrication
Earth and Space 2012 Conference
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2012
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Pasadena, CA, United States
Pioneering Planetary Surface Systems Technologies and Capabilities (PICES) 2012
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2012
;
Wikoloa, HI, United States
NIAC Symposium
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2012
;
Pasadena, CA, United States
2012-11-11
Miscellaneous
No indication
English