Measurements on the EXOMARS Configuration in the High Enthalpy Shock Tunnel Göttingen (HEG)

Abstract

Measurements on a lander capsule configuration for a future European Mars mission were performed in the High Enthalpy Shock Tunnel Göttingen (HEG), operated by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The measurements contribute to the ESA-NASA ExoMars project which is part of the European Aurora programme. In addition to the contributing to the experimental aerothermodynamic data base (ATBM) of the project, two primary goals were pursuit. The first goal was to establish a cross check possibility between the two major European high enthalpy facilities, the HEG of DLR and the F4 of the Office National d'Etudes et de Recherches Aerospatiales (ONERA). To accomplish this goal a new operating condition using CO2 as test gas was designed for HEG. This condition approximates the corresponding free stream of ONERA’s F4 facility. The second goal was to establish a new complementary free flight force measurement technique for high enthalpy testing in HEG additionally to the existing stress wave force balance in order to increase the confidence level of the experimental results that will be included in the ATBM. The present article presents a direct comparison between the HEG and F4 facilities, focusing on the results obtained for surface pressure and wall heat flux measurements and on the determination of the total drag of the vehicle. Additionally, high-speed flow visualisation of the flow past the capsule was performed.