TWO important goals for NASA's future Mars exploration programs are to perform a robotic
sample return mission and to enable human exploration missions. Both goals require the …

In this work, hypervelocity flows over double cone and double wedge geometries are
studied. The flow configurations established over the double cone/double wedge models …

Quantum chemistry calculations are undertaken to elucidate the potential energy surfaces of
the lowest singlet (S0) and triplet (T1) electronic states of CO2. The region of the potential …

Experiments were performed in the Hypervelocity Expansion Tube (HET) and the T5
hypervelocity shock tunnel to investigate geometric and gas composition effects on a double …

This work represents ongoing efforts to study high-enthalpy carbon dioxide flows in
anticipation of the upcoming Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) and future missions to the red …