MISSION TO MARS

AST 113 @ MESA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

NAME: _________________________________ DATE: _____________________________

INTRODUCTION
This lab exercise introduces the concepts involved in a human mission to Mars.
LEARNING GOALS
Calculate communication time between Earth and Mars based on the speed of light.
Compare the advantages and disadvantages between human and robotic explorers.
To recognize the physical impacts on humans traveling long distances in space and
surviving on the surface of another planet.
To understand possible trajectories and timing of travel to another planet.
EQUIPMENT

scientific calculator
computer with Excel software and web browser

THE EXPLORATION OF MARS

The first telescopic observations of Mars began more than a century ago. These observations,
made from a distance of many millions of kilometers, revealed an Earth-like world with an
atmosphere and weather, polar ice caps, and a variety of mysterious landscapes.
By the 1960s, the first spacecraft arrived to orbit Mars. These robotic explorers surveyed Mars
from altitudes of hundreds of kilometers and provided the first global maps of canyons,
volcanoes, and numerous impact craters. After the first successful landings in the 1970s, an
increasingly complex series of landers and rovers have explored Mars up close. These robots
have provided direct measurements of the geology and chemistry of Mars.
As sophisticated as these robot explorers are, they are still controlled by scientists and engineers
on Earth. The robots make no decisions about where to explore or what data to send back.
Commands for movement and measurement are carefully planned by teams on Earth and then
radioed to Mars to be carried out by the lander or rover. For example, NASAs rover Curiosity
(arrival: August 6, 2012) typically receives commands about once a day. In response, the rover
radios back images and other data about once a day. These data are used for planning the next
days activities.
Ideally, a human might control a lander or rover live as with a radio-controlled toy car or
helicopter or as in a video game. However, the orbits of Earth and Mars keep the two planets far
apart. So radio signals, even travelling at the speed of light, take a significant amount of time to
travel between the planets. How large or small is this light travel time between Earth and Mars?

MISSION TO MARS

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AST 113 @ MESA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

At their closest distance to one another, Earth and Mars are approximately 55 million kilometers
apart. When the two planets are on opposite sides of the Sun, they are approximately 375 million
kilometers apart. The speed of light is 300,000 kilometers per second.

1.1)

Calculate the shortest time it takes a radio signal to travel between Earth and Mars.
Convert your answer to minutes.

Travel time = Distance Speed =

1.2)

Calculate the longest time it takes a radio signal to travel between Earth and Mars.
Convert your answer to minutes.

Travel time = Distance Speed =

These light travel times pose problems. Suppose a driver sends a command to a robot on Mars.
After the command signal arrives at Mars, the robot carries out the command, and then sends an
image or other data back to Earth to show the driver the robots new position.
1.3)

If Earth and Mars are closest together, what is the smallest possible time delay between
the broadcast of a command from Earth and a reply sent back to Earth?

1.4)

How large is the time delay between command and reply when the two planets are on
opposite sides of the Sun?

1.5)

Summarize your findings. Why is remote control of a robot spacecraft on Mars

impossible?

MISSION TO MARS

MISSION TO MARS
AST 113 @ MESA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

HUMANS VERSUS ROBOTS ON MARS

Of course, light travel time isnt a problem for humans who travel to Mars and explore the planet
with their own eyes. Investigate this advantage by taking a short walk outside.
2.1)

Start a stopwatch and take a walk outside. Along the way, look for interesting rocks. Take
a few moments to examine each rock and then move along. What makes a rock
interesting is up to you: color, texture, shape Count the number of rocks you
examine on your walk.
Stop the stopwatch when you return to the classroom.
Time: __________________________

Rocks examined: _____________________

2.2)

Based on the length of your short walk, how many similar trips could be made in 1 hour?

2.3)

How many rocks could you examine in an hour-long walk?

Because it must wait for commands from Earth, Mars rovers are capable of inspecting one rock
or soil sample each day. It must send images of its surroundings to Earth. Then scientists must
examine the images and decide which objects look interesting. Next, they send commands back
to the rover and the rover drives to the object and extends its arm to place a microscope or other
instruments on the target for measurement. Later that day or the next day, scientists get the
images or data back. The whole process must be repeated each time something is examined.
2.4)

Compare this process to your walk. How much more effective would a human geologist
on Mars be than a robot explorer?

MISSION TO MARS

MISSION TO MARS
AST 113 @ MESA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

FLIGHT TRAJECTORIES
Getting to Mars is not as simple as driving a car on a stationary road. Earth and Mars are both
following curved orbits due to the pull of the Suns gravity. Suppose you launched a spacecraft
directly at Mars when Earth and Mars were closest to one another.
3.1)

Why would the spacecraft miss? There are two factors to consider.

Timing of the launch and arrival is important. You must consider the motion of the planets
during the time it takes the spacecraft to travel between the planets. Instead, the spacecraft must
be aimed at the place Mars will be when the spacecraft arrives at Mars orbit.
Another complicating factor is fuel. A faster trip to Mars requires more fuel. To carry more fuel,
the spacecraft must carry less of everything else (science instruments, crew, supplies, etc.).
In order to carry the maximum payload and reduce the amount of fuel required, mission planners
often consider the least-energy orbit. This orbit requires the minimum launch speed that will just
get the spacecraft to Mars. To follow a least-energy orbit, the spacecraft engines are fired briefly
to achieve liftoff from Earth and then again to escape from Earth orbit. The engines are then
turned off and the spacecraft coasts until it reaches the orbit of Mars. The engines are fired again
to match velocity with Mars in order to enter Mars orbit. Or the spacecraft uses friction with
Mars atmosphere to slow down for landing on the surface of Mars.
A least-energy orbit has a perihelion (minimum distance from the Sun) equal to 1.00
Astronomical Unit (AU, Earths average orbital distance) and an aphelion (maximum distance
from the Sun) equal to 1.524 AU (Mars average orbital distance).
3.2)

Sketch a least-energy orbit in the space below. The position of the Sun and the orbits of
Earth and Mars are provided. Label the perihelion and aphelion of the new orbit.

MISSION TO MARS

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AST 113 @ MESA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Keplers three laws of planetary motion describe the motion of a planet (or anything else) as it
orbits the Sun. We will use these laws to determine the most efficient route from Earth to Mars.
Keplers First Law: Orbits are ellipses with the Sun at one focus.
Keplers Second Law: A line drawn between the Sun and a planet will sweep out equal
areas in equal amounts of time. This means that a planet will move faster when it is closer
to the Sun than when it is far from the Sun.
Keplers Third Law: Keplers Third Law relates the size and period of a planets orbit.
For objects orbiting the Sun, the square of orbital period, the time it takes to complete an
orbit, is equal to the cube of the length of the semi-major axis. In this form, the orbital
period is measured in Earth years and the semi-major axis is measured in Astronomical
Units. This means that a planet that is closer to the Sun will orbit faster than a planet that
is farther from the Sun.
We can write the relationship between the period (P) and semi-major axis (a) as:
2 = 3

We can solve this equation for the period (P) by taking the square root of both sides:

3.3)

P = 3

The semi-major axis of the least-energy orbit is the average of the semi-major axis of
Earth and Mars. Calculate the semi-major axis of the spacecrafts orbit. Include units!

3.4)

+
=
2

3.5)

P = 3 =

Calculate the period of the spacecrafts orbit using Keplers Third Law. Include units!

The travel time from Earth to Mars (or from Mars to Earth) will be exactly half of the
orbital period. Use the period you calculated in Question 3.4 to find the travel time oneway. Convert this time to both days and months. Include units!
Travel Time = T = 0.5 PORBIT =

Now that you know how long your trip will take, you need to determine when to launch. A
spacecraft following a least-energy orbit will leave Earth on one side of the Sun and arrive at
Mars on the exact opposite side of the Sun. Where is Mars on the date of launch from Earth?

MISSION TO MARS

MISSION TO MARS
AST 113 @ MESA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Figure 2 on the last page of the lab script illustrates the orbits of Earth and Mars. Earths position
on the launch date is marked.
3.6)

The aphelion of the spacecraft orbit is 180 away from Earth at the time of launch.
On Figure 2, mark the position on Mars orbit where the spacecraft will arrive.

3.7)

On Figure 2, sketch the spacecrafts orbit in pencil. Remember that its perihelion is at
Earths position at launch and its aphelion is at the position you marked for Question 3.6.
Label launch and arrival on the spacecrafts orbit.

Mars will move along a fraction of its orbit as the spacecraft travels from Earth orbit to Mars
orbit. You have calculated the travel time (T) of the spacecraft.
3.8)

Use the Third Law to find the period of Mars. Convert this period from years to days.

In one orbital period, Mars will travel 360o around the Sun. The fraction of 360o that Mars
travels during the spacecrafts trip is:

3.9)

360

Find the angle that Mars travels during the spacecrafts trip.

3.10) On the launch date, does Mars need to be clockwise or counter-clockwise from the
spacecraft arrival position (marked for Question 3.6)? Explain your reasoning.

3.11) On Figure 2, mark the position of Mars on the date of the spacecrafts launch from Earth.
3.12) Measure the angle between Mars and Earth on the launch date as marked in Figure 2.
Earth overtakes Mars at a rate of approximately 0.5 per day. Using the angle you
measured, how many days before opposition (see Figure 1, next page) should you launch
the spacecraft?

MISSION TO MARS

MISSION TO MARS
AST 113 @ MESA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

A. Superior Conjunction

B. Opposition

C. just after opposition

FIGURE 1: Possible Planetary Configurations for Launch

3.13) If the next opposition of Earth and Mars is __April 8, 2014__, what is your launch date?

3.14) Try out the following website to attempt a successful flight from Earth to Mars:
http://www.brainpop.com/games/flytomars/. Of the three scenarios shown in Figure 1,
which planetary configuration works? Explain why the other two do not.

3.15) Watch the simulated orbits again. Be sure to watch the elapsed time clock. How often do
these launch configurations (known as launch windows) occur?

3.16) How do you think you could reduce the travel time from Earth to Mars? What are the
tradeoffs you have to make in order to do so?

MISSION TO MARS

MISSION TO MARS
AST 113 @ MESA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

PLANNING A MISSION
Visit the Google Mars website: www.google.com/mars. Investigate all of the landing sites to date
as well as the topography and elevation across the planet. Blues indicate low elevation and
whites are high elevation. Circular depressions are craters.
4.1)

What do all of the landing sites to date have in common?

4.2)

How many landings have included rovers? Name them.

Any spacecraft visiting Mars will be required to remain in orbit or on the surface for at least
several months before the correct planetary configuration for a return to Earth. With a return trip
lasting the same amount of time as the outward-bound flight, the shortest possible trip to Mars
with a return to Earth is several Earth years.
In order to survive this length of mission, what types and amounts of supplies would you need to
bring with you? Assume a human consumes 3 liters of water per day (at 1 kg per liter) and 2 kg
of food per day. Humans have an average mass of 70 kg.
Work with your group members to design a mission plan. Use the following list to illustrate key
factors.
Mission Objective: (What are you going to study? Why are you going?)

Crew Members: How many? Which jobs are important?

Mission Duration: short stay/ long stay/ no return

MISSION TO MARS

MISSION TO MARS
AST 113 @ MESA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Launch Date: See www.uapress.arizona.edu/onlinebks/MARS/APPENDS.HTM

Landing site: Feature name, elevation

Equipment and supplies:

Approximate mass of crew, equipment, and supplies:

4.3)

In previous labs, we have estimated the cost per kg of material to be approximately

$10,000 per kg. If the cost cap for a mission to Mars is $5 billion, what is the mass limit?

4.4)

Based on the mass of equipment and supplies plus crew that you have just estimated,
what is the mass of your planned payload? How does this compare to Curiositys 900 kg?

MISSION TO MARS

MISSION TO MARS
AST 113 @ MESA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

4.5)

Based on the launch mass limit, do you need to reconsider your mission plan, objectives,
or supplies? What would you change in order to be within the mass limit?

4.6)

What other factors should you consider? Explore some of those here. Examples might be:
radiation exposure, crew member relations, medical emergencies, light travel time.

Share your mission plans with the class.

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MISSION TO MARS
AST 113 @ MESA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Semi-major axis of Earth

aE = 1.000 AU

Semi-major axis of Mars

aM = 1.524 AU

FIGURE 2: PLANET ORBITS AND SPACECRAFT TRAJECTORY

The position of Earth at launch is marked.
The planets orbit the Sun counter-clockwise.

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