Addressing this problem requires advancements in computational tools and capabilities, advancements in existing technologies, and development of new EDL architectures and technologies. Prior studies have proposed architectures that relied on technologies such as low ballistic coefficient aeroshells, mid- to high-lift entry vehicles, and high-Mach supersonic decelerators. Development and maturation of candidate new technologies will require advancements in foundational knowledge and computational tools for accurate analysis and design.

This combined effort under the Hypersonics and Supersonics Projects is intended to enable HMMES.

The following are ROA-2007 NRA awards for EDL research with the most recent listed first.

PI Last Name Title Organization State Award Date Year 1 Amount Congdon Advanced Ablative Heatshields with Validated Thermal Response Models for High Mass Mars Entry Systems (HMMES) Applied Research Associates, Inc. NM 09/30/2008 $533,000 Candler Advanced Fluid-Structures Interaction Tools for Deployable Aeroshells and Decelerators University of Minnesota MN 04/21/2008 $277,000 Andrews Design Optimization of High Mass Mars Entry Systems (HMMES) Andrews Space, Inc WA 04/02/2008 $477,000 Rohrschneider Performance and Configuration Study of Deployable High-Mass Mars Entry Systems Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation CO 03/28/2008 $247,962 McKinney EDL System-Level Experimental Validations: Inflatable Structure Strain Instrumentation Boeing CA 03/27/2008 $137,652 Brown Materials, Structures and Manufacturing Technology for Full Scale HMMES Supersonic Decelerator Vertigo, Inc. CA 03/26/2008 $155,964 Acharya Development of Advanced Fluid-structure Interaction Methods for Deployable Aeroshells and Hypersonic/Supersonic Decelerators Louisiana State University LA 03/12/2008 $117,590 Willey Advanced Flexible Materials and Flexible System Concepts for HMMES Missions ILC Dover DE 03/03/2008 $488,121 Braun Computational Analysis of Supersonic Retropropulsion to Maximize Landed Capability for Future Mars Robotic and Human Exploration Missions Georgia Institute of Technology GA 02/29/2008 $128,329 McDaniel Aerodynamic Interactions of Propulsive Deceleration Jets and RCS Jets on Future HMMES Aeroshells University of Virginia VA 02/27/2008 $246,192 Braun Atmospheric Flight Reconstruction of Mars Robotic Missions to Provide an Aeroassist Data Set that Enables Future High Mass Mars Entry Systems Georgia Institute of Technology GA 02/21/2008 $128,329 Schneider Quantitative Global Heat Transfer in a Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel Purdue University IN 01/10/2008 $217,658 Martin DNS of Turbulent Hypersonic Flows Including Non-Equilibrium Gas and Surface Interaction Princeton University NJ 12/19/2007 $174,974 Fletcher Investigation of Surface Catalyzed Reactions for Mars Atmosphere Missions University of Vermont VT 12/18/2007 $100,355 Boyd Development of Hybrid Continuum-Particle Method for Nonequilibrium Hypersonic Entry Flows University of Michigan MI 12/16/2007 $160,780 Fletcher Investigation of CN Production from Carbonaceous Materials in Air and Nitrogen Plasmas University of Vermont VT 12/15/2007 $133,265 Braun Identification and Assessment of Aeroshell Shapes that Maximize Landed Mass Capability for Future Robotic and Human Mars Missions Georgia Institute of Technology GA 12/15/2007 $191,449 Raman An Integrated Computational/Experimental Program for the Predictive Modeling of Hypersonic Boundary Layers over Ablating Surfaces University of Texas TX 12/14/2007 $214,000