Daniel da Silva (671/UMBC) as Co-I is part of the team led by PI Gina DiBraccio (NASA) working on the recently funded proposal “Mars L1 Space Weather Monitor Mission Concept,” which was selected for the NASA Goddard Internal Research and Development (IRAD) program. This proposal will receive funding for 12 months. Other team members include Michael Kirk, Chris Bard, Giuseppe Cataldo, Ben Cervantes (all with NASA); Christina Lee (UC Berkeley), Raphael Attie (NASA/GMU), and Phil Chamberlin (CU LASP).
The goal is a Mars L1 mission concept to be implemented into the Moon-to-Mars effort, and to provide a radiation warning and forecasting system for astronauts, maximizing science while prioritizing risk reduction for explorers. The efforts “will prioritize essential observations, define optimal instrument suites, and quantify what information must be measured at Mars versus what can be inferred from Earth using archival data.” This IRAD was developed with a two-phase strategy: the first phase involves the Digital Explorer Mission (DEM) Pathfinder, and the second phase investigates a Mission Design Lab (MDL) Run, to develop a concept for a Mars L1 observatory, based on findings from the DEM Pathfinder.
“The project advances a truly innovative concept by applying the Digital Explorer Mission framework, an entirely new class of computationally driven missions, toward Mars L1 mission design. By doing so, the effort reduces mission risk and cost while pioneering a digital-physical hybrid mission approach that has never been implemented at Goddard.”