The Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft, carrying the Curiosity rover to Mars, hit the top of the Martian atmosphere just 200 meters from where it had been predicted more than six days earlier, and 2.6 million kilometers away. This un-expected level of accuracy was achieved by a combination of factors including: spacecraft performance, tracking data processing, dynamical modeling choices, and navigation filter setup. This paper will describe our best understanding of what were the factors that contributed to this excellent interplanetary trajectory prediction performance. The accurate interplanetary navigation contributed to the very precise landing performance, and to the overall success of the mission.
Mars Science Laboratory Interplanetary Navigation Performance
AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting ; 2013 ; Kauai, HI, United States
2013-02-10
Conference paper
No indication
English
Mars Science Laboratory Interplanetary Navigation
Online Contents | 2014
|Mars Science Laboratory Interplanetary Navigation
AIAA | 2014
|Mars Science Laboratory Interplanetary Navigation Performance (AAS 13-232)
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2013
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