Mars Xpress. Summary of the Group Design Project, MSc in Astronautics and Space Engineering, 1997/98, Cranfield University

This is a summary of the Group Design Project of the MSc course in Astronautics and Space Engineering in the College of Aeronautics at Cranfield University for the academic year 1997/98. Executive summaries from all the individual reports are contained in an Appendix to this report. The project represents about 8000 hours’ e®ort by the students of the course directed by sta®, and takes the form of a preliminary mission feasibility study. The project was based on ESA’s Mars Express mission.

The proposed mission is for a Martian lander composed principally of a rover equipped to search for signs of past or present life on Mars. A controlled descent is required to ensure landing close to sites of particular interest. The surface exploration is planned to last 250 Martian days. A Mars orbiter (also part of the Mars Express mission) is used as a relay for the rover to communicate with Earth.

The mission appears feasible as far as the study goes. Topics requiring further study were identified and include thermal design, communications with Earth, achieving the required landing precision, and mobility on the Martian su