Mars 96

 1996-064

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Originally Mars-94, the project was delayed to the 1996 window by the fall of the USSR. Launch in Nov 1996 was a failure, when the Blok-D-2 did not ignite for its second burn. The ADU fired to place Mars-96 in an elliptical orbit, from which it reentered at third perigee. Parts of the spacecraft were reportedly recovered in Bolivia at 20 44 50 S 67 44 20 W.

Mars-96 was Lavochkin probe M1 No. 520, based on the Fobos bus. It consisted of an orbiter, 2 penetrators and 2 meteo station landers.

Planned Mars orbit was 900 x 18200 km, 12h. Mass at Blok-D-2 separation is 6825 kg; at solar orbit insertion 5678 kg. Dry mass is 3001 kg station plus 573 kg ADU. The MAS landers are 85 kg and 90 kg and the penetrators were 124.5 and 126.5 kg  [496].

Mass of GO (Fairing) was 1879 kg. Stage 3 at sep was 5362 kg.

Planned D-2 burn times were 97s, 529s, for 0.345 and 3.150 km/s. Actual times were 97s and ~0s, and the second burn was in the wrong direction of magnitude 20m/s. The Blok-D-2 had a dry mass of 1900 kg; at Mars-96 sep it had a mass of 14300 kg, and over the following hours the fuel was automatically vented.

The second burn had m2 = 6825 + 14300 = 21125 kg; for Ve= 3.46, m1 = 21247 so about 122 kg of prop used, about a 5 s burn. For the 97s burn about 2270 kg used, giving Blok D-2 initial mass of 16692 kg, reasonable given other sources' estimated mass of 16900 kg.

Mars-96
Date	Time	Event	Orbit
1996 Nov 16	2048:53	Launch by Proton-K	KB LC200L
	2050:51	Stage 2 burn T+1:58
	2050:56	RK-1 Stage 1 sep T+2:03, 42 km
	2051:58	GO Fairing sep T+3:05
	2054:20	Stage 3 burn T+5:27
	2054:24	RK-2 Stage 2 sep T+5:31, 120 km
	2058:26	PK
	2058:36	GK Stage 3 sep T+9:43	77.41 -881 x 157 x 51.61
	2059?	Eject MAS heat shields?
	2059	SOZ burn T+10:43
	2104:35	Blok-D-2 burn T+15:42
	2106:11	Blok-D-2 shutdown T+17:18	159 x 160 x 51.61
	2114?	Stage 3 reentry
	2051	SOZ burn T+1:03:53
	2157:47	Blok-D-2 burn 2 T+1:08:54
	2157:50?	SOZ separation	155 x 206 km (expected)
	2206:51?	Blok-D-2 sep	139 x 155 x 51.5
	2208:00?	ADU burn
	2210:54?	ADU burnout
			77 x 410 x 51?
	2240?	Apogee 2 at 400+ km
	2325	Perigee 2 at 78 km over 58W? 30S
1996 Nov 17	0010?	Apogee 3 at 400+ km
	0053?	Perigee 3 at 78? km over 80W? 32S, S Pacific
	0100?	Reentry over S Pacific
	0500	(Blok-D-2)	87.43 139 x 154 x 51.52
	1830	(Blok-D-2)	87.18 129 x 140 x 51.53
1996 Nov 18	0015	(Blok-D-2)	86.85 114 x 122 x 51.50
1996 Nov 18	0130	Blok-D-2 reentry over S Pacific
Scheduled flight prior to failure
	2206	Blok-D-2 shutdown T+1:17:41
	2206	Blok-D-2 sep T+1:17:57	11300.0 215 x 320670 x 51.79
	2208	ADU burn T+1:19:07
	2210	ADU shutdown T+1:21:57
	2211	Solar orbit insertion	0.793 x 1.498 x 2.11 (AU)
1997 Sep		MAS separation
		MOI	500 x 51800 x 106.4
		MOI-2	300 x 51800? x ?
		ADU sep
1997 Oct		Penetrator release

Payload:

• MAS (2) Maliya avtonomnaya stansiya, 50 kg each

• Penetrator (2), 65 kg each

• OA Orbital'niy apparat

• TSP platform with ARGUS instruments:

  • HRSC stereo TV camera

  • WAOSS Wide angle stereoscopic TV camera

  • OMEGA visible and IR mapping spectrometer

  • NC Navigation camera

• PAIS platform:

  • SPIKA optical spectrometer

  • EVRIS stellar photometer

  • Foton Gamma spectrometer

• PFS Planetary IR fourier spectrmeter

• TERMOSCAN mapping radiometer

• SVET mapping high resolution spectrophotometer

• UVS-M ultraviolet spectrometer

• LWR Long wavelength radar?

• Neutron-S neutron spectrometer

• MAK quadrupole mass spectrometer

• ASPERA-S energy-mass ion spectrograph and neutral particle imager

• FONEMA Fast omnidirectional non scanning energy-mass ion analyser

• DYMIO Omnidirectional ionospheric energy-mass spectrometer

• MARIPROB ionospheric plasma spectrometer

• MAREMF electron analyser, magnetometer

• ELISMA electromagnetic waves

• SLED-2 Low energy charged particle spectrometer

• PGS Precision gamma spectrometer

• LILAS-2 Cosmic and solar gamma ray burst spectra

• RADIUS-M Radiation and dosimetry measurements

1996-064

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The surface penetrators are 2.0m long and PN1 (520/4) had a mass of 124 kg. The forward and aft sections separate on impact, with the forward section reaching 1 to 6 m below the surface. One penetrator would have landed near the MAS stations and the other SW of Utopia Planitia. The penetrator carried 5 RHS radioactive Pu238 source, each with 15g of PuO2.

The tail section is 0.8m diameter with science instruments. The nose is 2.1m long and 0.15m in diameter. Sep from OA at 0.8m/s. Braking engine with thrust of 130 kgs. Then solid fuel descent engine.

Payload:

• Seismometer

• Temperature sensor

• Aft section camera

• APXS Alpha proton X-ray spectrometer

• APXS Alpha proton X-ray spectrometer

• REPS power source with 2 RHS capsules, 30g PuO2

• RHS capsules, 3, 45g PuO2

1996-064

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The small station was one of two stations on Mars-96. The bus is 1m in diameter, with petals which unfold to 1.4m. The MAS carried a total of 4 RHS radiation heat source pellets, each with 15g of Pu-238 dioxide. Planned landing site for each of the MAS probes was west of Olympus Mons at 41.31N 153.77W and 32.48N 169.32W. MAS/520/1 was 85 kg.

Payload:

• REPS 1 power source with 1 RHS, 15 g PuO2

• REPS 2 power source with 1 RHS, 15 g PuO2

• RHS power sources, 2, 30g PuO2

• Pu-238 RTG (2)

• Camera (RKA)

• Magnetometer (CNES)

• Meteorological sensors (Finland)

• MOx Mars Oxidation Experiment (JPL)

• Relay radio system