The entry, descent, and landing (EDL) project has been tasked with the development & maturation of technologies for human-scale mars EDL applications (10S of metric tons). One such technology,…

This federal contract award to the National Institute of Aerospace Associates (NIA), a non-profit research institute, supports the Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) project managed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The objective is to develop and mature technologies for human-scale Mars EDL applications, with a focus on Supersonic Retropropulsion (SRP) - a key enabling technology for supersonic deceleration during Mars missions. Under this $89,502 cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order, NIA will conduct trade studies, assist with wind tunnel testing, and generate computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis to support the EDL project's technology development efforts. This work is not associated with a set-aside contract and is being performed at NIA's facilities in Hampton, Virginia. As a longtime partner to NASA, particularly the Langley Research Center, NIA frequently supports the agency's research and technology advancement activities through both contract awards and grant funding.

The entry, descent, and landing (EDL) project has been tasked with the development & maturation of technologies for human-scale mars EDL applications (10S of metric tons). One such technology, supersonic retropropulsion (SRP), has been identified as enabling for supersonic deceleration when combined with rigid or flexible hypersonic decelerators. SRP will utilize large engines for propulsive deceleration initiated at supersonic mach numbers. SRP is viewed as a successor to supersonic parachute technologies currently used for mars robotic-scale missions. The EDL project is currently funding tasks in the areas of 1) systems analysis, 2) wind tunnel testing 3) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis. This task order covers all areas. The objectives of this task are: 1) to support trade studies for both full-scale mars SRP systems and sub-scale systems designed for earth atmosphere flight testing, 2) to assist planning wind tunnel tests designed specifically designed for CFD validation, 3) to generate CFD results and compare them to data using conditions from tests conducted by the EDL project.