Understand how space organizations use concepts of operations and system integration plan to ensure the success of their program

Space Concept of Operations

Lesson OverviewExploration: MoonExploration: MarsExploration: MercuryDiscovery: EarthCONOPS/System Components

Exploration: MoonThe GRAIL mission placed two

independent spacecraft into the same synchronous orbit

GRAIL's engineering objectives was to enable the science objectives of mapping lunar gravity and using that information to increase understanding of the Moon's interior and thermal history

Exploration: Moon

Exploration: MarsMars Science Laboratory is part of

NASA's Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the red planet.

Launched on Nov. 26, 2011, 7:02 a.m. PST (10:02 a.m. EST). Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity is currently assessing whether Mars ever was, or is still today, capable of supporting microbial life. In other words, its mission is to determine the planet's "habitability."

Current Countdown to landing: http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/

The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission, scheduled for launch in late 2013, will be the first mission devoted to understanding the Martian upper atmosphere.

The goal of MAVEN is to determine the role that loss of atmospheric gas to space played in changing the Martian climate through time.

MAVEN will determine how much of the Martian atmosphere has been lost over time by measuring the current rate of escape to space and gathering enough information about the relevant processes to allow extrapolation backward in time.

Exploration: Mars

MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging) mission is designed to further study the mysterious nature of Mercury

August 3, 2004 -- MESSENGER Launch August 2005 -- Earth flybyOctober 2006 -- Venus flybyJune 2007 -- Venus flybyJanuary 2008 -- Mercury flybyOctober 2008 -- Mercury flybySeptember 2009 -- Mercury flybyMarch 2011 -- Yearlong science orbit of Mercury begins

Exploration: Mercury

Discovery: Earth The Landsat Data Continuity Mission

(LDCM 8), a collaboration between NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey, will provide moderate-resolution (15 m–100 m, depending on spectral frequency) measurements of the Earth's terrestrial and polar regions in the visible, near-infrared, short wave infrared, and thermal infrared.

Launch Date: Dec 12 The LDCM spacecraft is being built by

Orbital Sciences Corporation. The spacecraft has a design life of 5 years, but carries sufficient fuel for 10 years of operations

Discovery: EarthThe joint U.S./Argentinian (SAC)-D

Aquarius mission is mapping the salinity—the concentration of dissolved salt—at the ocean surface

This information is critical to improving our understanding of two major components of Earth's climate system: the water cycle and ocean circulation

Launch Date: June 2011

CONOPS/System Component

Understand how space organizations use concepts of operations and system integration plan to ensure the success of their program

Space Concept of Operations