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Mars

The year 1994 was supposed to witness the launch of the now-international Mars-94 spacecraft, designed to place a heavy platform into Mars orbit and to drop four small probes onto the Martian surface. Originally conceived as the Columbus Project with a 1992 launch date, Mars-94 was redefined and simplified several times before its rescheduled launch in October, 1994, with only a single spacecraft. The Russian-led mission now included substantial participation from the former Soviet bloc nations, France, Germany, UK, Japan, US, and others - more than 20 countries in all.

The cruise spacecraft is shown with the surface experiments on board during the journey to the Red Planet after launch by a Proton booster. A few days before reaching Mars, the two small station surface probes are released for a direct entry into the Martian atmosphere. The two penetrator probes are released from the mother spacecraft after a stable Mars orbit has been obtained. All four landers will be powered by radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) to permit lifetimes of up to one year. The orbiter will revolve about Mars in highly elliptical, 12-15 hour orbits to carry-out its own intensive survey of the planet and to serve as a data collector from the surface instruments. The scientific program is managed by the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Space Research, while the Babakin Engineering and Research Center of the Lavochkin Scientific Production Association is responsible for most spacecraft hardware, excluding the scientific instruments (References 160-162).

From high hopes and strong commitments in early 1993, the Mars-94 program began to gradually unwind as the year progressed with severe doubts by the end of the year that the launch schedule could be achieved (References 163-171). By April 1994, just six months before, the planned lift-off of Mars-94, the Russian Space Agency decided the mission would have to be postponed until the next flight opportunity in 1996. Unfortunately, the launch window for the newly rechristened Mars-96 will not be as favorable as the 1994 window, leading to a reduction in payload or equally undesirable changes in the flight profile. By the end of 1994 worries about a complete cancellation of the project had surfaced (References 172-179).

The two-year delay for the former Mars-94 had the expected domino effect of revising the original Mars-96 mission launch to 1998, thereby changing its name to Mars-98. The main Mars-98 scientific payloads are an atmospheric balloon probe and a miniature Mars rover, both originally envisioned for the 1992 Columbus Project, temporarily moved to Mars-94, and then manifested on Mars-96 (now Mars-98). The balloon probe is primarily a Russian-US-French undertaking with a total mass of 65 kg and a design life of 10 days during which it may travel up to 1,500 km across the planet, dragging an instrumented package along the surface each night. The rover is a product of the Russian Institute of Transport Mechanical Engineering with a mass of 75-80 kg, a width of 0.95 m and a length of 0.7-1.2 m, depending upon the terrain. Like the Mars-96 landers, the rover will be powered by a small RTG. The Mars-98 main spacecraft will relay data from the balloon and rover to Earth from its orbit about Mars. Engineering models of the balloon and the rover have been undergoing extensive tests on Earth for several years. However, by late 1994 new concerns about the viability of Mars-98 were raised, including the possibility that the payload would be dramatically downsized to accommodate a launch by a Molniya rather than a Proton booster (References 180-195).

REFERENCES

163. P.B. de Selding, "Russia: Mars Missions Still on Schedule", Space News, 4-10 January 1993, p. 4, 20.

164. "Russians Commit To Mars 1994 Missions, Aviation Week and Space Technology, 8 February 1993, p. 51.

165. L. Tucci, MESA Signs Mars 94 Deal", Space News, 12-18 April 1993, p. 10.

166 J.R. Asker, Mars 94 To Carry Novel U.S. Experiment", Aviation Week and Space Technology, 12 April 1993, p.53.

167. M. Taverna, "Tous Vers Mars En 1994", Air & Cosmos, 14-20 June 1993, pp. 107-108.

168. "Mars 1994 Hampered", Aviation Week and Space Technology, 30 Auqust 1993, p. 22.

169. Y. Telegin, "Preparing for the Mars-94 Missions, Spaceflight , September 1993, p. 294.

170. P.B. de Selding, "RKA Calls for Help On Mars Mission", Space News, 25-31 October 1993, pp. 1, 18.

171. L. David, "Technical, Budget Woes May Delay Mars Prober, Space News, 15-28 November 1993, pp. 1, 24.

172. M.A. Dornheim, "Russians Press Mars 94, But Risks Still Run Highs, Aviation Week and Space Technology, 3 January 1994, pp. 22-23.

173. P.B. de Selding, "Ax Hovers Over Russia's Plans for Mars '94," Space News, 25 April - 1 May 1994, pp. 4, 21.

174. "Russians Reveal Delay in Mars '94 Launchings, Space News, 2-8 May 1994, p. 2. 175. V. Semiryaga, Segodnya, 12 May 1994, p. 9.

176. "Dual Flight for Mars 96", Aviation Week and Space Technology, 23 May 1994, p. 11.

177. C. Covault, "US, Russia Plan New Mars Mission", Aviation Week and Space Technology, 6 June 1994, pp. 24-25.

178. V. I. Moroz, Zemlya I Vselennaya, July-August 1 994, pp. 3-1 6.

179. P.B. de Selding, "Russian Woes Hampering Mars Project", Space News, 19-25 December 1994, pp. 1, 20.

180. Small Martian Rover, technical specification sheet distributed by Institute of Space Research, Babakin Engineering and Research Center, and the Institute of Transport Mechanical Engineering, undated.

181. C. Tarrieu, "Status of the Mars 96 Aerostat Development", Paper IAF-93-Q.3.399, 44th Congress of the International Astronautical Federation, 1993.

182. J. Brochard-Runavot, "The International Management of the Mars 94/96 Mission: The French Space Agency Role", Paper IAF-93-H.3.200, 44th Congress of the International Astronautical Federation, 1993.

183. L. David, "McDonnell Douglas, Russia Team on Rover", Space News, 18-24 January 1993, p. 6.

184. "Mars Rover Control Test Proceeds Despite Video Snafu", Space News, 31 May - 6 June 1993, p. 12.

185. W. Boyer, "Russian Rover Operated Via Inmarsat Satellite", Space News, 6-12 September 1993, p. 6.

186. "Russia Slips Mars 96 to 1998", Aviation Week and Space Technology, 4 April 1994, p. 72.

187. M.A. Dornheim, "Marsokhod Rover Tests New Computer, Arm", Aviation Week and Space Technology, 4 April 1994, p. 71.

188. "Newsmaker Forum", Space News, 4-10 April 1994, p. 30.

189. Yu. Murashko, Sankt-Peterburgsklye Vedomosti, 16 June 1994, pp. 1-2.

190. ITAR-TASS News Agency, 16 September 1994.

191. UCNES Plans Test", Space News, 5-11 December 1994, p. 17.

192. C. Lardier, UEssais Du Robot Martien 'Marsokhod' A Toulouse", Air & Cosmos, 23 December 1994, p.62.

193. B. Iannotta, "Rover Team Simulates Moon, Mars in Hawaiian Crater", Space News, 27 February - 5 March 1995, p.10.

194. P.B. de Selding, "Funding Needed To Ensure Mars Mission", Space News, 17-23 April 1995, p. 21.

195. P.B. de Selding, "Planned French Balloon May Be Dropped", Space News, 17-23 April 1995, pp. 1, 20.

Sources and Resources

• Adapted from: Europe and Asia in Space 1993-1994, Nicholas Johnson and David Rodvold [Kaman Sciences / Air Force Phillips Laboratory]

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