The Mission MIRIAM-2: Putting a Gossamer Ballute Through An Atmospheric Entry FLight Test

Abstract

MIRIAM, short for ‘Main Inflated Re-entry Into the Atmosphere Mission test’, is a validation concept designed for the Mars ballute technology development programme ARCHIMEDES. This development programme is a joint effort of the Mars Society Germany and the University of the Federal Armed Forces of Germany in Munich, with further support by research institutes throughout Europe, the DLR and several industrial companies. The scientific objective of ARCHIMEDES is to obtain measurements of the Martian atmosphere, magnetic environment and surface throughout almost the entire altitude range reaching from outer space to ground. This is facilitated by an instrument carrier attached to a large and gossamer thin film ballute. MIRIAM was designed to validate the theory behind such a vehicle, test the newly developed technology in flight and to gain experience related to manufacturing, handling, flight operations, and gathering new scientific data on Mars and its atmosphere. A first MIRIAM test was flown in October 2008 from ESRANGE. In this paper we focus on the second MIRIAM test, named MIRIAM-2, which is currently slated for launch in October 2014 on a two-stage Taurus-Improved Orion rocket, again from ESRANGE. The main objective of MIRIAM-2 is to obtain realistic flight data for the re-entry of such a low ballistic coefficient design. Aerothermodynamic studies based on different methods have been performed for the entry into both Mars and Earth atmospheres, and flight data is needed to validate those methods. Presented will be the underlying theory, the mission and spacecraft design, the scientific experiments aboard, and expected improvements of the current body of knowledge. We will conclude with an outlook on further development, particularly the transfer of MIRIAM-2 results to a more accurate description of the atmospheric entry on Mars.