Da Vinci School for Science and
the Arts
Team Da Vinci 4
Hell Jumpers of Venus
Enough with the moons and into Hell we go!
Payload Concept Proposal
Venus Explorer Mission
1.
Introduction
Our payload (“named Merge în Iad”) will stay onboard the balloon. Once the balloon detects
concentrations of sulfur underneath, it will drop our payload. While the payload is going through the
atmosphere it will commence taking a series of pictures of the surface in hope of catching a glimpse at a
possible volcano. If the payload lands out of the volcano or lava, it will test the composition of the soil.
1.1 Team Introduction
Our team’s name Hell Jumpers of Venus (HJV) is inspired by the ODSTs (Orbital Drop
Shock Troopers) from an online video named Halo who are called “hell jumpers,” The
reason they were called as such was because the troopers would drop into the battle fields
from their ships in high orbit, sometimes from outer atmosphere of the target planet. These
drops would have the pods superheated and most of the time they would get shot at with AA
fire making survival very minimal. Venus is not much different. Survival rates are also very
low and it is a hellish planet, making the reference perfect because of the fact that the
troopers would land on a very heated battlefield.
Our slogan “Enough with the moons and into Hell we go!” is based on the idea that all the UAH
(University of Alabama in Huntsville) InSPIRESS missions that Da Vinci has participated involved
moons. That is why we say that we had enough with the calm moons and that we are going to the
harsh conditions of Venus.
Our team logo is an allusion to a video game character’s helmet which goes by the name of “Hell
Jumpers”. In our background, there is a picture of the planet Venus, and on the helmet there is a pair
of wings that signify the altitude from which the hell jumper is dropped from.
2.
Science Objective and Instrumentation
Our science objectives are to find if there are volcanoes, document them and pinpoint the location
for future research. Additional objectives if possible will be to explore the soil composition of the
planet.
Table 1. Science Traceability Matrix
Science Objective
Measurement Objective
Measurement
Requirement
Look for Volcanoes
Sulfur bubble
concentration
2 minute intervals
Mass Spectrometer
(Argus 1000)
Composition of Soil
Molecular composition
of soil
Once upon landing
Mass Spectrometer
(Argus 1000)
Documenting Volcanoes Photographing a volcano
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60 seconds
Instrument Selected
Camera (NanoCam
C1U)
Payload Concept Proposal
Venus Explorer Mission
The instruments that we will be needing will be; a camera in order to photograph the possible
existing volcanoes in the surface of Venus, an accelerometer in order to be able to trace our location after
being deployed from the balloon, a battery in order to power all of our instruments in the payload, a
spectrometer in order to analyze the soil in Venus and a transmitter to finally send information back to the
orbiter than to earth.
Table 2. Instrument Requirements
Instrument
Mass(kg)
Data Rate
Lifetime
Frequency
Voltage needed
Duration
Transceiver
.075kg
0,05 MB/s
Until shut down
continuous
3.3V
constant
Mass Spectrometer
(Argus 1000)
.230kg
2.4Mb
immediately upon
landing
3 short bursts
.96.3 W
5 seconds
Camera
.199kg
32MB
Until landing
60 seconds
3.3v
1 second
.035kg
N/A
Until landing
15 seconds
None
1 second
Battery (Nanapower
BPX)
.370kg
N/A
Until shut down
continuous
7.2-16.8V
constant
Transmitter (ISIS
TXS S-Band)
.062kg
.07MB
Until shut down
continuous
<3.5W
constant
Mother
Board(NanoMind
A712D)
.050kg
4 MB
Until shut down
continuous
3.3V
constant
(NanoCam C1U)
Accelerometer
(Piezoelectric Type
CA 250 M2XX /
M8XX)
Payload Design Requirements
In order for our probe to say “go” the balloon it is traveling on must detect concentration of sulfur
under it. Our payload must be a maximum of 5 kg and it must fit in a volume 44 cm x 24 cm x 28
cm. The payload must survive the environment and no harm can be done to the spacecraft. It must
capture images of the suspected volcano and send the location and images back to the orbiter to send
back to Earth. If the probe lands safely it will start to test the soil composition and send the data from
to the orbiter.
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Payload Concept Proposal
Venus Explorer Mission
4.
Alternative Concepts
Figure 1. Group 1 Concept
Concept one involves the probe landing in the lava or volcano. It will however have taken
pictures of the volcano as it was descending through the surface. Its objective will be completed as it
captures images of the suspected volcano as well as document its location. We will take measurements
with a camera (NanoCam C1U).
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Payload Concept Proposal
Venus Explorer Mission
Figure 2. Group 2 Concept
Concept two involves the probe landing safely. Adding to the fact that it captures images of the
surface as well as document the location it will then start to test the soil. This additional information will
also be sent back to the orbiter and it will have accomplished the additional objective of a safe landing.
This will take measurements with a mass spectrometer (Argus 1000)
Figure 3. Group 3 concept
Concept three involves a mix of concept one and two. The payload is to fall through the
atmosphere, once it detects a concentration of sulfur, it is to take pictures of the surface in an attempt to
photograph a volcano, and finally land safely to test the composition of the surface. Concept three has the
same design as concept two. This will take measurements with a camera and mass spectrometer (Argus
1000 and NanoCam C1U)
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Payload Concept Proposal
Venus Explorer Mission
5. Analysis
6.
Engineering Analysis
In order to be able to achieve our mission we would need a large amount of time in order to be
able to take pictures and sent them back to earth before we reach the surface taking in consideration we
might not survive landing. Therefore we needed to find how long we would be falling from the balloon
unto the volcano. We thought of a solution that when we reached the mouth of the volcano being
approximately at 10 km from the ground, we would need to have a velocity of 1 m/s in order to as
mentioned before be able to send every picture to earth. In order to be able to have this velocity at that
altitude, the size of the parachute would need to be a certain size. In order to find out the ideal size of the
parachute we used the formula mg=1/2pv^2CDS where m is the mass of our payload, g the gravitational
pull, p is the density of gas in that certain altitude, CD the coefficient of drag and S the area of the inside
of the parachute. With every variable substituted with its value the formula was
(3.4)(8.87)=1/2(.65)(1^2)(1.5)S giving us the result of S=61.86 after getting the area of the parachute (S)
we proceeded to ring the gas density on every 10km range from the UAH balloon to the mouth of the
volcano. In order to find this we used the ideal gas law (pV=mRT) along with a table of information
provided to us by an InSPIRESS powerpoint. In the formula p is pressure, V is volume, m is our payloads
mass, R is the ideal gas constant (.18892), and T is temperature. By having all of these values solved for
we would proceed to use the formula m/V=p/RT=p making sure the first two parts matched being the
result for the gas density. Once we found the gas density of every 10 km range we then proceeded to find
the velocity of each 10 km range using the formula v\/2mg/pCDS where p would change for every 10 km
in order to find the velocity for each one. After finding the changes in velocity we then proceeded to find
the time intervals between each 10 km by using the formula t=d/v where t is time, d is distance and v is
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Payload Concept Proposal
Venus Explorer Mission
the velocity from each 10 km. After finding each time intervals we then proceeded to find the total time
with the formula total t=t1+t2+t3+t4+t5 resulting in 6 hours and 33 seconds.
7. Final Design
Figure 4. Payload Final Design
Our final design was the concept one idea. The design consists of the payload being a sphere for
easier storing of our instruments. It also includes the bottom of the payload being transparent so that our
camera is able to take panoramic pictures without any object interrupting its view, in order to photograph
as much as possible of the surface. Our payload also consists of a parachute which will deploy as soon as
we let go of the balloon in order to give us as much drag as possible so that we may last longer in the air
allowing us to take the pictures we need and send them to the orbiter and then to earth. This payload has a
radius of 12 cm or a diameter of 24 cm, fitting the size restrictions as well as a weight of 3.4 kg fitting the
weight restrictions. This payload will take measurements with a camera (NanoCam C1U). It will take 6
hours and 30 seconds to land to the surface estimating that the volcano is 10 km above the surface. If the
probe survives the landing then it will send back all data that hasn't been able to return to the orbiter
before shutting down or being killed by the harsh environment of Venus. The probe is a very viable
option with its small size and lightweight, it has a very important objective which will answer many
questions about the existence of volcanoes on Venus.
Table 4. Final Design Mass Table
Function
Mass (kg)
Deploy
0.9
Measure
0.464
Collect Data
0.05
Provide Power
0.370
Send Data
0.062
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Payload Concept Proposal
Venus Explorer Mission
House/Contain Payload
1.5
Table 5. Payload Design Compliance
8.
Requirement
Payload Design
No more than 5 kg of mass
Affirmative: 3.4 kg
Fit within 44cm x 24 cm x 28 cm when stowed
Affirmative: 24 cm in diameter
Survive environment
Affirmative
No harm to the spacecraft
Affirmative
Community Engagement Activity Summary
This year we will be organizing three CEA events all located in our schools. Our first
event was held in our school’s auditorium. The event was specifically organized to gather the
adults in our community and inform them of what is going on in our school and our connections
with UAH, InSPIRESS, and NASA. The guests of our event were treated to free snacks and a
Venus project movie based from Star Wars. The movie was parody which was homemade movie
conducted by the participants of InSPIRESS. After the movie, each team participated in the
Venus project must gave a ten to fifteen minute presentation on their missions to Venus. Our
Community/Parent night acquired 151 surveys.
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Payload Concept Proposal
Venus Explorer Mission
Our second event was held in Vista del Futuro, one of our elementary schools. At this
event we showed all the younger children our movie explaining the mission to Venus and our
team gave a brief explanation of their missions and purpose on Venus. We then finished our
presentation with pop quizzes and activities, we gave out rewards(candy) to those who completed
the challenge or got the correct answer to one of our questions. In our trip to Vista del Futuro we
acquired 102 surveys. Our final CEA event was held within our school carnival. Every team
would set up a number of booths with presentations and activities pertaining to our concepts. We,
Hell Jumpers of Venus, had a presentation of a volcanic explosion consisting of Coca-Cola and
Mentos reaction. We had another volcano which contained a spicy sweet syrup in the core ,so that
people could dip their fruit and taste the sweet and spicy goodness. Team H.J.Vs last booth was
mostly a fundraising booth, selling Papas Locas, a traditional snack made from basic potato chips
with hot sauce, lemon juice and a secret ingredient. Our carnival
event gathered up 83 surveys. In total we gathered 336 surveys.
9.
Summary
This project should be chosen because it is simple, easy to construct, well within the
requirements, and has a very essential scientific objective that will answer many questions about Venus.
The discovery of volcanoes will allow understanding of the interior of the planet, finding similarities of
planet Earth and Venus and understanding the atmosphere of the planet. Let's get ready to drop!
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