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Mars Soil Mechanical Properties and Suitability of Mars Soil Simulants |
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| Authors: | Howard A. Perko John D. Nelson Jacklyn R. Green |
| Affiliation: | 1Division Manager, CTL/Thompson, Inc. and Secure Engineering Companies, 211 W. Magnolia, Fort Collins, CO (corresponding author). E-mail: hperko@secureengineer.com 2Professor, Civil Engineering, Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO 80523. E-mail: john@engr.colostate.edu 3Manager, Extraterrestrial Materials Simulation Laboratory, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. E-mail: jacklyn.r.green@jpl.nasa.gov |
| 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. |
| Keywords: | Planets Space exploration Shear strength Grain size Soil properties Mechanical properties Simulation |