Aftbody Heat Flux Measurements During Mars 2020 Entry

The Mars Entry, Descent, and Landing Instrumentation 2 (MEDLI2) sensor suite on the Mars 2020 mission included two total heat flux sensors and one radiometer on the backshell to directly measure the aftbody aerothermal environments during entry into the Martian atmosphere. All three sensors successfully returned aftbody entry heating measurements. Comparisons between the total heat flux sensor measurements and predictions by NASA simulation tools (DPLR/NEQAIR) show excellent agreement and provide confidence in the models. The radiometer measured significant radiative heating, but compared to the model predictions the signal was attenuated by 48% at the end of the entry heat pulse. The loss of signal is attributed to blockage by thermal protection system (TPS) ablation product deposits on the radiometer window. Ground-based testing in the NASA Ames arcjet facilities was conducted to understand the impact of ablation product deposits on the measured radiometer signal. A discussion of the test results, how flight-like the test conditions were, and future work to further characterize the effect of TPS ablation product deposits on the radiometer performance are presented. In addition to measuring the entry heat pulse, all three sensors were sensitive enough to measure solar radiation during cruise, the radiometer measured solar flux during the entry heat pulse, and the leeside total heat flux sensor picked up the descent reaction control system firings.

Automated summary

The MEDLI2 sensor suite on the Mars 2020 mission successfully measured the aerothermal environments during entry into the Martian atmosphere. Comparisons with NASA simulation tools showed excellent agreement for the total heat flux sensor measurements, while the radiometer signal was attenuated due to blockage by thermal protection system ablation product deposits. Ground-based testing provided insights into the impact of ablation product deposits on the radiometer signal.