Dynamic Analysis of a Legged Lander System

Abstract

Interplanetary missions have increased in the recent years, with spacecrafts landing successfully on Moon and Mars. The entry, descent, and landing on another planet is still a challenging job, since earlier few missions were unsuccessful. The lander is a mechanical system which is a combination of links and joints which provides the soft-landing platform for the spacecraft. The lander needs to be designed such that it can absorb the maximum impact energy and provide stable landing. Dynamic analysis of a lander is required in order to understand the behavior of impact forces on the lander. The main objective of this paper is to analyze an existing legged lander system configuration which will be capable of withstanding and attenuating the impact force. ADAMS simulation of a single-legged system is carried out for a range of terminal velocities. The simulation results are compared with the results of a single-legged system drop test.