10:45 AM - 11:00 AM
[PPS05-06] International Mars Ice Mapper Mission: Overview and Current Status 2023
Keywords:Mars, ground ice, human exploration
The International Mars Ice Mapper Mission (I-MIM) is a mission concept being developed by the partner agencies: the Agenzia Spatiale Italiana (ASI), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The partner agencies established a joint I-MIM mission concept team under a Statement of Intent signed in February 2021. The agencies have jointly advanced the technical and scientific preparations for a mission to be flown no earlier than 2031.
The mission’s primary goal is to characterize accessible, near-surface (within the uppermost 10 m) water ice and the geotechnical properties of its overburden in the mid- to low-latitudes of Mars for the reconnaissance of future human exploration. The mission has been organized around three requirements-driving Reconnaissance Objectives (RO): i) RO-1: Location and Extent of Water Ice, ii) RO-2: Accessibility of Water Ice, and iii) RO-3: Candidate Human Landing Site Assessment. The partner agencies have also outlined Supplemental Science Objectives (SSO) and Mission Support Objectives (MSO) to augment the mission’s potential return on investment: iv) SSO-1: Augmented Water Ice Inventory, v) SSO-2: Reconnaissance/Science Investigations of Opportunity, vi) MSO-1: Complementary Payloads for Reconnaissance, Science, and Engineering.
The partner agencies recruited an international Measurement Definition Team (MDT), representing ten countries and diversity across gender, career stages, and discipline. The MDT comprises expertise in planetary science and human exploration to (Task-1) define the core measurements and payload required to achieve the ROs, (Task-2) suggest augmentations in the form of science investigations and hardware, and (Task-3) develop a model concept of operations based on the findings of Tasks 1 and 2.
The final MDT report was released to the public in September 2022. The MDT report finds that the baseline mission of a Synthetic Aperture Radar/sounder instrument would largely satisfy all of the ROs and suggests that complementary payloads (e.g., lower frequency radar sounder and/or high-resolution stereo-imager) would enhance the possibility of the reconnaissance and science return of the mission. The partner agencies further find that the MDT report responds clearly to the recommendations of the Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023–2032.
The mission’s primary goal is to characterize accessible, near-surface (within the uppermost 10 m) water ice and the geotechnical properties of its overburden in the mid- to low-latitudes of Mars for the reconnaissance of future human exploration. The mission has been organized around three requirements-driving Reconnaissance Objectives (RO): i) RO-1: Location and Extent of Water Ice, ii) RO-2: Accessibility of Water Ice, and iii) RO-3: Candidate Human Landing Site Assessment. The partner agencies have also outlined Supplemental Science Objectives (SSO) and Mission Support Objectives (MSO) to augment the mission’s potential return on investment: iv) SSO-1: Augmented Water Ice Inventory, v) SSO-2: Reconnaissance/Science Investigations of Opportunity, vi) MSO-1: Complementary Payloads for Reconnaissance, Science, and Engineering.
The partner agencies recruited an international Measurement Definition Team (MDT), representing ten countries and diversity across gender, career stages, and discipline. The MDT comprises expertise in planetary science and human exploration to (Task-1) define the core measurements and payload required to achieve the ROs, (Task-2) suggest augmentations in the form of science investigations and hardware, and (Task-3) develop a model concept of operations based on the findings of Tasks 1 and 2.
The final MDT report was released to the public in September 2022. The MDT report finds that the baseline mission of a Synthetic Aperture Radar/sounder instrument would largely satisfy all of the ROs and suggests that complementary payloads (e.g., lower frequency radar sounder and/or high-resolution stereo-imager) would enhance the possibility of the reconnaissance and science return of the mission. The partner agencies further find that the MDT report responds clearly to the recommendations of the Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023–2032.