Phase Change Buoyant Systems for Planetary Exploration: A Design Study for Venus, Mars and Titan

Phase-change buoyant systems are promising potential candidates for in-situ planetary exploration, due to their inherent ability to stay afloat for longer periods without much power consumption. The present work discusses the design study of the phase-change buoyant systems for three planetary bodies, viz., Venus, Mars, and Titan with the operational altitude band of 40-60 km, 00-05 km and 00-10 km above the surface, respectively. An iterative initial sizing methodology is used to size the dual balloon configuration of phase-change buoyant systems with payload masses of 01 kg, 05 kg, 10 kg and 20 kg. A detailed design study is further carried out using constraint analysis to obtain the feasible diameter and thickness of the phase change balloons. The feasible design points are obtained from the constraint diagram for payloads of 01 kg, 05 kg, 10 kg and 20 kg. From the results of initial sizing and constraint analysis, Phase-change buoyant systems are feasible for atmospheric exploration of planetary bodies such as Venus, and Titan.