Ryan Swindle
Washington University in St. Louis
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Advisors: Andrew Gray, Kourosh Rahnamai, Glenn Tsuyuki
Abstract
Primary science objectives listed in the MEPAG include but are not limited to characterizing the Martian interior (i.e. crust, mantle and core) and seismic activity, including tectonic, impact and volcanic activity. SSDM (Student Seismic Discovery Mission) has proposed the concise, lightweight package Seismos to be stowed underneath the Astrobiology Field Laboratory (AFL) rover to be launched in 2017 to investigate these goals, including secondary objectives relating to the climate near the surface of Mars at the proposed latitudes herein. The thermal system design for SSDM utilizes a passive approach, allowing pockets of ambient, low thermal conductivity CO2 to form around sensitive electronics. Minimizing heat loss due to radiation is accomplished through low-emissivity paints, which for Mars missions has been gold-based with emissivity values on the order of 2 to 3%. Given the operational temperature constraints of -40°C and 50°C, the design requires no controlled active heating during nominal operating conditions; the dormant pre-deployment phase requires the most control and determines primary battery and heater size. A Warm Electronics Box radiator has been sized in the case of Entry, Descent, and Landing overheating.
Ryan Swindle, from Pocahontas, Arkansas, is a senior currently studying Aerospace Engineering within the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. He has participated in undergraduate research for the past 4 years, including two sponsorships through NASA Space Grant Consortia (Arkansas and Missouri). His achievements include graduating with distinction in Physics from Hendrix College and most recently becoming the thermal system lead for a NASA JPL proposed seismology package. Ryan plans to pursue graduate study in Astrophysics starting in the Fall of 2008. He will pursue a Ph.D. in Physics, with the goal of working for NASA and becoming an astronaut.
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