3/8th Scale Testing for the MSR Sample Retrieval Lander Touchdown Event

The Mars Sample Retrieval Lander would be the largest lander (over 2300kg) to land on Mars. To mimic the system-level structural dynamics of touchdown in Mars gravity on Earth, a drop test campaign is completed using a dynamically similar 3/8th scale prototype. The testbed capabilities include uneven terrain, induced horizontal velocity, induced pitch rate, and low/high-friction surface conditions.This prototype lander has 4 inverted tripod legs and a full instrumentation suite. A flexible-body MSC ADAMS model with nonlinear crushable core and cantilever load limiter representations is correlated to the physical tests such that displacements, velocities, accelerations, member forces, and bending moments agree with observations.The process of early scaled testing and model correlation helps develop a greater understanding of system level dynamics and sensitivities that drive landing leg design and helps provide a test-validated ADAMS model used in touchdown Monte Carlo simulations to ensure a successful landing on Mars.