Conveners
Thermal for surface missions
- Alexandre Darrau (ESA)
Thermal for surface missions
- Andreas Mussger (ESA)
Currently, the specific Martian thermal environment isn't fully automated and addressed within many space thermal analysis software, hence often critical parameters are simplified and dismissed. The Application Programming Interface (API) in ESATAN-TMS, first released in 2022 and updated in the 2025 release, provides a plugin interface and has been used to model configurable environments to...
The growing interest in missions targeting small bodies and near-Earth asteroids, driven by planetary defence, exploration and resource-utilization objectives, calls for space systems capable of operating in asteroid environments that are often not well characterized, or that present large uncertainties during the mission design phases.
In this presentation one interesting example of such...
In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in both robotic and human missions to the Moon. This resurgence brings renewed focus to the thermal challenges of the Lunar surface environment, such as wide temperature fluctuations, risks associated with the lunar regolith, and especially at the poles, highly varying illumination conditions, characterized by prolonged lunar night.
First,...
Modification of thermal control surfaces due to lunar dust remains uncertain for upcoming lunar missions. While dust deposition rates have been both estimated and measured, significant uncertainties persist. Prior studies established that there is a clear link between lunar dust simulant (LDS) coverage to changes in solar absorptivity (α) and infrared emissivity (ε) of radiator.
However,...
Lunar Outpost’s Lunar Voyage 1 (LV1) MAPP rover mission launched from Cape Canaveral, FL on February 26, 2025, aboard the Intuitive Machine 2 (IM-2) lander. The rover included payloads from multiple customers and Lunar Outpost Europe’s (LOEU) Thermal Switch demonstration. Following 6 days in transit from Earth to the Moon, and 3 days in Lunar Orbit, the rover survived a challenging,...
Thermal management on Mars poses significant challenges due to its rarefied atmosphere, where the low ambient pressure severely limits the effectiveness of convective heat transfer. This study investigates the feasibility and optimization of convective cooling strategies for a Mars flight vehicle, using NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter as a case study. Particular emphasis is given to the...
The next decades will see a growing presence on the Lunar surface. Not only will robotic systems continue to explore the Moon , but they will also assist in establishing a permanent human presence. Various stationary and mobile assets will be needed to enable such a growth in Lunar exploration. Different systems have emerged during the last years that include instruments, vehicles, and...
