Viscous Interactions and Separation in Hypersonic Flow Mars Sample Return Orbiter in the R5Ch Hypersonic Wind Tunnel
Display by Electron Beam Fluorescence of the flow around the MSRO.
Tests in the R5Ch wind tunnel.
Studies of the "Mars Sample Return Orbiter" are part of a CNES-Nasa cooperative program aimed at improving our knowledge of the planet Mars and its environment. An orbiter was launched by Ariane 5 in 2005, with containing four NetLanders for the scientific mission of analyzing the Martian environment, and two atmospheric re-entry capsules for returning samples of Martian soil to earth. This vehicle, called the Mars Sample Return Orbiter (MSRO), will be put into Mars orbit by aero capture, and will collect the spheres containing the samples gathered and previously put into orbit by a system perfected by Nasa.
The study entrusted to the Onera by the Cnes in this first phase of the program involves testing a 1:50 scale replica of the orbiter in the R5Ch low Reynolds number hypersonic wind tunnel. In terms of rarefaction parameters, the R5Ch test conditions correspond to points in the MSRO's trajectory at the start and end of the aero capture phase. The instrumented model is made up of a shield and a rear part schematically representing the orbiter equipped with the collection system and the two atmospheric re-entry capsules.
Visualizations and measurements were taken for different angles, as the study's objective was to show the effectiveness of the heat shield protection for the orbiter and its. The figure at the top of the page shows a visualization of the flow around the MSRO created by Electron Beam Fluorescence for an angle of –4°C. The next figure maps the heat flow density established by infrared thermography.
