Evaluation of Liquid Propulsion MAV Concepts for Mars Sample Return

As part of a NASA effort to perform studies of unique mission designs for Mars Sample Return (MSR), L3Harris Technologies conducted a rapid mission design study of the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) and Sample Return Lander (SRL). The goal of this study was to identify concepts that reduced the mass, cost, development duration, and impact on mission design complexity of the MAV and SRL, or some combination of these metrics. To achieve this goal, a comprehensive design space exploration trade study was performed to assess the cost, development schedule, reliability, and performance of various liquid propulsion MAV configurations. Included in the MAV configurations analyzed were propulsion options that use low-operating-temperature propellants, which provide additional benefits towards reducing support system mass and complexity, and high Technology Readiness Level (TRL) propulsion options. After a preliminary performance screening process, six MAV configurations were downselected for further refinement and evaluation. These six configurations, along with the NASA baseline two-Stage SRM MAV, were assessed for development and production cost and schedule, MAV reliability, and impact to mission complexity. A utility analysis process was used to score each configuration against the metrics for mission design value and a set of metric weightings. This process allowed for preference, typically a qualitative and subjective parameter, to be injected into the analysis process and calculated for each configuration. This paper provides additional details on the mission design and trade study, and the downselected MAV configurations, along with a set of observations and recommendations.