Mars Soil Mechanical Properties and Suitability of Mars Soil Simulants
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 19, Issue 3
Abstract
Determination of Mars soil mechanical properties will improve future lander mission success and provide narrower constraints for geomorphological modeling. A soil mechanics investigation was conducted wherein soil mechanical properties were determined by computer reconstruction of mass wasting features observed in photographs of Mars Exploration Rover landing sites and analysis of natural slope stability. Mars soil mechanical properties were compared with thermal inertia measurements and a correlation is presented. Tests with rovers and equipment for Mars surface exploration and various past laboratory experiments have incorporated a number of different Mars soil simulants. Standard laboratory measurements were conducted to characterize the shear strength, grain size distribution, and densities of various Mars soil simulants. From these measurements, the ability of a given simulant to appropriately represent the mechanical properties of in situ Mars soils was judged. Specific simulants are recommended for certain regions of Mars.
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References
Allen, C. C., et al. (1998). “JSC Mars-1: A Martian soil simulant.” Proc., Space ’98, R. G. Galloway and S. Lokaj, eds., ASCE, Reston, Va., 469–476.
ASTM. (2005). “Standard test methods for soil and rock.” West Conshohocken, Pa.
Christensen, P. R., and Moore, H. J. (1992). “The Martian surface layer.” Mars, Chap. 21, Arizona Press, 686–729.
Perko, H. A., Nelson, J. D., and Green, J. R. (2004). “Mars soil mechanics investigation.” NASA Technical Rep. No. NRA-00-01-MDAP-059, Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, Colo.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 19 • Issue 3 • July 2006
Pages: 169 - 176
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: May 11, 2004
Accepted: Mar 22, 2005
Published online: Jul 1, 2006
Published in print: Jul 2006
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