Aerosol Rapid Analysis Combined Entry Probe/sonde Technology (AERACEPT)

Summary

Aerosols -- clouds, hazes, and dusts -- are a key part of how mass, heat, and chemical and kinetic energy move around planets. On rocky worlds with water, they can play a major role in how planets' climates develop over time, such as the difference between Earth's habitable surface and Venus's inhospitable one. However, they are highly dynamic in space and time, and difficult to study remotely. Once-in-a-lifetime flagship missions that can take on-site measurements of clouds on other worlds are too rare to give a complete picture of these complex systems. AERACEPT is designed to fit aerosol particle capture and analysis in a smaller mission footprint, allowing us to send probes more often or in bigger groups. Ultimately, this will help us understand how and why worlds like Venus, Mars, and Titan, as well as the gas and ice giants, develop and change over time.

Technology Description

AERACEPT is a “payload backbone” design for an aeroshell with embedded sampling inlets and outlets, internal flow geometry that helps isolate particles from the aeroshell heat and material, and a sample capture backend -- for example, a simple inertial impaction plate that separates the particles from the gas flow. The entry vehicle doubles as the descent probe, and the sample collector doubles as the optical analysis substrate. By taking advantage of the small probe's faster descent velocity, AERACEPT enables capture and analysis of aerosol particles with no moving parts.

Our project goal is a proof of concept of an aerosol capture and delivery system suitable for use as a single-body entry system and descent probe in a small spacecraft or ride-along mission architecture. We will prototype and validate a novel combination of three critical technical components – an aeroshell nose with embedded sample inlet, interior transfer inlets that protect and separate the aerosol samples, and a combined impactor / analyzer substrate – each individually inspired by heritage designs from planetary and Earth science missions. The validation data will bound the trade space of sample number, resolution, and rate, all linked through descent trajectory; in combination with the current state of small-footprint optical analysis technology, which determines the resulting trade between analysis cadence and limits of detection, this will enable a feasibility/benefit analysis for the technology in different mission target contexts.

This technology fits in small-spacecraft or ride-along mission architecture; dramatically reduces cost and risk of exploration of planetary atmospheres.

AERACEPT combines three key innovations:

• Inlets embedded in the aeroshell eliminate the need for heat shell separation and allows a small aeroshell can double as entry vehicle and sonde. This approach draws inspiration from the 1973 Planetary Atmospheres Entry Test demonstration.
• Internal secondary flow control isolates the sample from the aeroshell's heat and material. It can be optimized to allow targeting of specific particle sizes or other specific mission applications. Our design is based on aerosol sampling designs with extensive history in Earth-based airborne science.
• A dual capture/analysis substrate reduces flow and power requirements, as well as overall design complexity.

Though AERACEPT draws on several technologies with heritage in other fields, our current implementation is enabled by two recent technical advances:

• New thermal protection materials, including non-pyrolyzing 3D woven carbon-carbon (3D CC), which reduces contamination risk and preserves the shape and function of embedded inlets and outlets, and the insulating layer of Heatshield for Extreme Entry Environment Technology (HEEET), which allows a faster descent in a smaller footprint.
• Modern optical analysis methods, including Raman, LIBS, and fluorescence, can perform analyses quickly enough to keep up with a rapid descent and packaged with few or no moving parts. This allows a favorable trade of a little less science in a much smaller footprint.

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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