title: A sophisticated lander for scientific exploration of Mars: scientific objectives and implementation of the Mars-96 Small Station.
abstract: A mission to Mars including two Small Stations, two Penetrators and an Orbiter was launched at Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on 16 November 1996. This was called the Mars-96 mission. The Small Stations were expected to land in September 1997 (Ls approximately 178 degrees), nominally to Amazonis-Arcadia region on locations (33 N, 169.4 W) and (37.6 N, 161.9 W). The fourth stage of the Mars-96 launcher malfunctioned and hence the mission was lost. However, the state of the art concept of the Small Station can be applied to future Martian lander missions. Also, from the manufacturing and performance point of view, the Mars-96 Small Station could be built as such at low cost, and be fairly easily accommodated on almost any forthcoming Martian mission. This is primarily due to the very simple interface between the Small Station and the spacecraft. The Small Station is a sophisticated piece of equipment. With the total available power of approximately 400 mW the Station successfully supports an ambitious scientific program. The Station accommodates a panoramic camera, an alpha-proton-x-ray spectrometer, a seismometer, a magnetometer, an oxidant instrument, equipment for meteorological observations, and sensors for atmospheric measurement during the descent phase, including images taken by a descent phase camera. The total mass of the Small Station with payload on the Martian surface, including the airbags, is only 32 kg. Lander observations on the surface of Mars combined with data from Orbiter instruments will shed light on the contemporary Mars and its evolution. As in the Mars-96 mission, specific science goals could be exploration of the interior and surface of Mars, investigation of the structure and dynamics of the atmosphere, the role of water and other materials containing volatiles and in situ studies of the atmospheric boundary layer processes. To achieve the scientific goals of the mission the lander should carry a versatile set of instruments. The Small Station accommodates devices for atmospheric measurements, geophysical and geochemical studies of the Martian surface and interior, and cameras for descent phase and panoramic views. These instruments would be able to contribute remarkably to the process of solving some of the scientific puzzles of Mars.
authors.affiliation: IKI-Russian Space Research Institute, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Linkin
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Harri
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lipatov
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Belostotskaja
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Derbunovich
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ekonomov
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Khloustova
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kremnev
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Makarov
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Martinov
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nenarokov
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prostov
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pustovalov
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shustko
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Jarvinen
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kivilinna
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Korpela
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kumpulainen
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lehto
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pellinen
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pirjola
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Riihela
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salminen
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: McKay
mesh_terms: D001272:Atmosphere / Q000032:analysis*; D001330:Electronic Data Processing; D004867:Equipment Design; D018559:Exobiology; D005118:Extraterrestrial Environment; D008280:Magnetics; D018535:Mars; D008685:Meteorological Concepts; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis*; D013026:Space Flight / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000639:trends; D018531:Spacecraft / Q000295:instrumentation*; D018511:Systems Integration
chemical_list: D012987:Soil