Lander-style Vehicle Plume-structure Heat Transfer Monitoring Knowledge Payload

Lander design often requires that the lander’s leg placement reside within an area affected by the rocket plume during decent. This can cause the lander’s legs to overheat. Researchers at Purdue University are seeking to monitor this phenomenon with the Lander-Style Vehicle Plume-Structure Heat Transfer Monitoring: Knowledge Payload. Measurements taken on a vertical takeoff and vertical landing (VTVL) vehicle are expected to enable knowledge acquisition, helping researchers understand the heat transferred during different conditions—from high thrust to idle and from centerline thrust to hard-over gimballed operations. 

Problem Statement 
Lunar and planetary landers—especially the newest generation of commercial lunar landers—often have legs placed close to their rocket plume. The heat that radiates from the unsteady plume of an actively gimballed and throttled rocket motor onto the legs of a lander is important to understand and predict in order to inform robust designs for future lander vehicles as well as to understand the risks of rocket plume heating in order to optimize performance and mission success.This is made more difficult on Earth because crosswinds, which are absent on the Moon and nearly absent on Mars, deliver additional and asymmetrical heat transfer from the rocket plume to the lander’s legs. 

Technology Maturation
Measurements taken on a vertical takeoff and vertical landing vehicle aim to help researchers understand heat transfer from high thrust to idle and from centerline thrust to hard-over gimballed operations. The existing payload will be modified to measure additional channels of temperature and to increase the capability to several dozen sensors. Researchers plan to compare measurements from numerous flights and conditions with predictions from modeling in order to inform modeling improvements.

Summary of Flight Test
2023-09-12 This tech maturation program set out to advance instrumentation for plume-impingement heating measurements, which was achieved. Minimum mass is important throughout spaceflight systems and these data and this testing method will aid in minimum-mass spacecraft lander leg design. Because o f changes in the commercial space industry, a shift in testing methods had to be developed and the result is a more affordable and more productive testing method for future work.
2024-10-14 This test concludes the entire campaign, which demonstrated plume-impingement studies designed for lander-type vehicles can shift to more economical and convenient ground-based operations. Because of changes in the commercial space industry, a shift in testing methods had to be developed and the result is a more affordable and more productive testing method for future work.

Lunar and planetary landers—especially the newest generation of commercial lunar landers—often have legs placed close to their rocket plume. The heat that radiates from the unsteady plume of an actively gimballed and throttled rocket motor onto the legs of the lander is important to understand and predict in order to inform robust designs for future lander vehicles and understand the risks of rocket plume heating. Researchers at Purdue University are seeking to monitor this phenomenon with the Lander-Style Vehicle Plume-Structure Heat Transfer Monitoring: Knowledge Payload. Measurements taken on a vertical takeoff and vertical landing (VTVL) vehicle from Masten Space Systems are expected to enable knowledge acquisition, helping researchers understand the heat transfer during different conditions—from high thrust to idle and from centerline thrust to hard-over gimballed operations. This would benefit NASA missions, the commercial space industry, other government agencies, and the nation.

Future Customers
•Organizations building crewed or robotic landers for NASA
•Lander vehicle design for Earth-based entry, descent, and landing research

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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