The Mars Entry, Descent and Landing Instrumentation 2 (MEDLI2) will collect data during the Mars 2020 mission’s entry through the planet’s atmosphere to enable improved designs of future Mars entry systems for robotic and crewed missions. Understanding aerothermal environments, thermal protection system performance, and aerodynamic performance characteristics of the Mars 2020 entry vehicle also extends to designing entry systems for other destinations, such as Venus, Titan, and the gas giants.
Close analysis of MEDLI2 flight data is vital to future NASA exploration of the red planet. Extending on groundbreaking entry data collected by the MEDLI instrument flown aboard the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, MEDLI2 will explore regimes not addressed during the MSL 2012 mission and seek answers to questions generated from examining MEDLI/MSL data.
Principal Technologist | Project Manager |
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Michelle Munk (michelle.m.munk@nasa.gov) | Henry Wright (Henry.S.Wright@nasa.gov) |
NASA EDGE: Game Changing Entry, Descent and Landing Part 1
NASA EDGE: Game Changing Entry, Descent and Landing Part 2
MEDLI2 Installation on Mars 2020 Aeroshell Begins
Vibration testing of the MEDLI2 primary electronics box was successfully completed recently at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Flight hardware is being shipped and installed on the Mars 2020 entry vehicle in preparation for next year’s launch. Credits: NASA Hardware installed onto NASA’s Mars 2020 entry vehicle this week will help to […]