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Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2009

Analysis of a manned mars mission with Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP) system

Résumé

The goal of this paper is to analyze the performance of a ion NEP system for a manned mission to Mars. The objectives are to evaluate whether NEP could reduce journey's time and mass of propellant compared to both chemical and Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP). To these authors' knowledge this is the first time that a manned Mars mission using only NEP has been analyzed in detail. The trajectory assumed consists in an acceleration spiral to leave LEO, followed by acceleration with constant thrust after reaching escape speed. Thereafter the spacecraft decelerates until reaching the Δ V needed to capture a Low Martian Orbit (LMO) through a spiral. This trajectory was calculated for thruster power varying from 100 to 300 MW. Mission times are found to depend strongly on power. The gain in shortening times more than compensate for the increase in the mass budget. Reactor sizing has been done using Los Alamos National Laboratory realistic data for Particle Bed Reactors. The shield uses Be, LiH and W and its architecture has been designed based on a simplified model obtained with the neutronic MCNP code. After optimization, reactor mass, including shielding, is estimated between 4600 kg (333 MWth), to 5370 kg (1000 MWth). The NEP system consists of a cluster of 20 to 60 ion thruster modules, depending on power, each with thrust 15.55 N, beam diameter 0.4 m and power 5 MWe. Total thruster power assumed after thermal to electric conversion is 100 MWe (150 MWe, 200 MWe and 300 MWe). Specific impulse with Xe propellant is 32,780 s, much higher than that of a NTP system using hydrogen. The spacecraft mass budget found at convergence includes structure, propulsion system, propellant, environmental control and life support system, water, avionics, crew, crew accommodation (including food), and modules for Mars landing and travel back to Earth. The conclusions indicate that NEP is likely a serious contender for more economical manned Mars missions.
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hal-03855710 , version 1 (26-01-2023)

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  • HAL Id : hal-03855710 , version 1

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Federica Ferraro, Raffaele D’elia, Simone Paternostro, Antonella Simonetti, Claudio Bruno. Analysis of a manned mars mission with Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP) system. IAC 2009 - 60th International Astronautical Congress 2009, Oct 2009, Daejeon, South Korea. pp.6586-6599. ⟨hal-03855710⟩
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