Kennedy Space Center Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Mission Briefing Brevard County Commission March 22, 2011 By: Steve Brisbin Associate Director for Center.

Kennedy Space CenterKennedy Space Center

Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Mission Briefing

Brevard County Commission

March 22, 2011

By:

Steve Brisbin

Associate Director for Center Operations

Kennedy Space Center


♦ Update County Officials on the Mars Science Laboratory mission

♦ Provide an overview of the multi-mission radiological power source

♦ Focus on the contingency planning activity unique to this mission Partnership with Brevard County Emergency Management Key agencies involved in emergency planning and response County Interfaces and planning activity

♦ Answer questions the Commission may have and identify interest in more detailed briefings prior to launch

Briefing Purpose

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Rover Family Portrait

Spirit andOpportunity

2003

Sojourner1996

Curiosity2011

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Curiosity’s Science Goals

Curiosity’s primary scientific goal is to explore and quantitatively assess a local region on Mars’ surface as

a potential habitat for life, past or present

Objectives include:

•Assessing the biological potential of the site by investigating any organic and inorganic compounds and the processes that might preserve them

•Characterizing geology and geochemistry, including chemical, mineralogical, and isotopic composition, and geological processes

•Investigating the role of water, atmospheric evolution, and modern weather/climate

•Characterizing the spectrum of surface radiation

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Mission Overview

SURFACE MISSION• Prime mission is one Mars year

(687 days)• Latitude-independent and long-

lived power source• Ability to drive out of landing

ellipse• 84 kg of science payload

ENTRY, DESCENT, LANDING• Guided entry and powered

“sky crane” descent

• 20×25-km landing ellipse

• Access to landing sites ±30° latitude, <0 km elevation

• 900-kg roverCRUISE/APPROACH• 8 to 9-month cruise

• Arrive August 6-20, 2012

LAUNCH• Window is

Nov. 25 to Dec. 18, 2011

• Atlas V (541)

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MSL Science Payload

REMOTE SENSING

Mastcam (M. Malin, MSSS) - Color and telephoto imaging, video, atmospheric opacity

ChemCam (R. Wiens, LANL/CNES) – Chemical composition; remote micro-imaging

CONTACT INSTRUMENTS (ARM)

MAHLI (K. Edgett, MSSS) – Hand-lens color imaging

APXS (R. Gellert, U. Guelph, Canada) - Chemical composition

ANALYTICAL LABORATORY (ROVER BODY)

SAM (P. Mahaffy, GSFC/CNES) - Chemical and isotopic composition, including organics

CheMin (D. Blake, ARC) - Mineralogy

ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERIZATION

MARDI (M. Malin, MSSS) - Descent imaging

REMS (J. Gómez-Elvira, CAB, Spain) - Meteorology / UV

RAD (D. Hassler, SwRI) - High-energy radiation

DAN (I. Mitrofanov, IKI, Russia) - Subsurface hydrogen

DAN

REMS

ChemCamMastcam

RAD

MAHLIAPXSBrushDrill / SievesScoop

MARDI

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Why a nuclear power source?

Been used safely and successfully by NASA to explore the solar system for more than 40 years

• Mars Viking 1 and 2 landers

• Voyager 1 and 2, Galileo, Cassini

• Coming soon: Pluto in 2015!

Enables Curiosity to…• Travel farther (20 kilometers/12 miles)

• Last longer (23 months = Martian year)

• Operate much more effectively during Martian winter

• Go to remote places at high latitudes

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What is an MMRTG

• Generates electricity (with no moving parts) and can provide extra heat to keep spacecraft subsystems warm in cold environments

• Uses plutonium dioxide fuel as its long-lived heat source

• Designed, built and tested to contain its fuel in a wide range of accident conditions

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MSL Launch Nuclear Safety

• Chances of a launch accident are small and the chances of an accident with release are 10 times smaller

• Unlikely that anyone would be exposed to nuclear material

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MSL Launch Accident Response

• NASA has assembled a multi-agency team to prepare for any accident . Key partners include DOE, FEMA, EPA, Air Force, Coast Guard, State of Florida, and Brevard County

• Trained environmental monitoring teams are capable of deployment to any area of potential release

• 30 advanced environmental monitoring stations are deployed prior to launch (including 19 offsite)

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MSL Launch Accident Response Coordination Centers

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Assessment Command & Control Center

Senior Management Center

Joint Information Center

Brevard County EOC

Brevard County EOC


♦ We expect a safe and successful launch of the Curiosity mission to Mars. As with every launch, we prepare for any outcome.

♦ NASA has a long history of safe launch and operation of spacecraft carrying radioisotope power sources. The NASA team works every day with the intent of maintaining that excellent record and safely carrying out every launch.

♦ NASA employs a wide range of safety features to ensure a safe launch. First, we use highly reliable launch vehicles. Next, if there is a problem with the launch, flight termination systems reduce

the likelihood of placing nuclear material in severe accident conditions beyond controlled areas around the launch pad.

In addition, the nuclear power source includes several layers of protective features.

Launch and Launch Area Risk

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♦ Accidents that could result in a release of nuclear material in the launch area could only occur in the earliest phases of launch, before the launch vehicle clears the Florida coastline. No release would be expected from any launch accidents involving spacecraft impact in the ocean.

♦ If an accident with a release were to occur at or near the launch site, the greatest portion of any released material would be expected to remain onsite (KSC and CCAFS) where it presents very low risk to the public.

♦ In the unlikely event of an accident, public exposure to radiation, if any, is expected to be very small: Most people would not be exposed to any radiation. If there was a release, on average any individual dose (5-10 millirem) would

be equal to about a week of exposure to the background radiation that people receive from living on Earth.

Americans are exposed to an average of 360 millirem of background radiation annually, mostly from sources like radon and cosmic rays.

If there were an off site release the maximum dose to any individual from a launch accident (which is received over 50 years) would be comparable to less than half of the annual dose from background sources of radiation.

Launch and Launch Area Risk

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♦ NASA has an aggressive plan for public and press outreach relative to its plans for the MSL mission

♦ We appreciate the Brevard County emergency planning and response partnership forged over many years of these types of missions

♦ The planning efforts to date for this mission are the most thorough in the history of NASA’s MMRTG use, including a comprehensive engagement of Federal, State and Local partners

♦ We appreciate the opportunity to bring the Commission up to date on the MSL and stand ready to conduct more detailed briefings that the Commission may request

Summary

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Learn More About Curiosity

Mars Science Laboratory

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl

MSL for Scientists

http://msl-scicorner.jpl.nasa.gov

Mars Exploration Program

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov

MSL Candidate Landing Sites

http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites

http://webgis.wr.usgs.gov/msl

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MSL Rover

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Brevard County Participation: Mars Science Laboratory

Launch

Brevard County Participation

Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP)/with Space Launch Annex for Major Radiological Source

Developed Specific Plan Integrated with KSC Launch Plan for MSL

Participate in Joint Information SystemMSL “Curiosity” at Brevard

County FairJoint Briefing with media

Brevard County Participation

Extensive use of Social Media

SCGTV MSL animation videos

Joint Selection of off Site Monitoring Locations

Coordinate Training with EMS/Hospitals

Alerting and Warning of Public if Required.

Public Service Announcement

Clear Channel Outdoor has made space available on 7 boards in Brevard and 2 in Orange County

Kennedy Space Center Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Mission Briefing Brevard County Commission March 22, 2011 By: Steve Brisbin Associate Director for Center.

Documents

mission partnership

mars surface

mars year

science payload entry

msss descent imaging

isotopic composition

nuclear power source

power source ability