Similarity Design Method of the Inflatable Buffer Landing System

Abstract

The inflatable buffer landing system, such as the airbag, has been widely used for deep space exploration as a low-cost entry. The impact performance of an airbag landing attenuation system on Mars had to be proven through cushion testing on Earth. In this paper, a design method for the airbag landing attenuation system on Earth is proposed based on similarity relation. With this method, the impact response of the spherical airbag landing attenuation system is derived based on assumptions, and the principal factors have great influence on the impact response of the landing system have been proved. Then, the similarity relation between the full-scale airbag landing attenuation system in the Martian atmosphere and its Earth prototype is obtained through theoretical derivation. Finally, the proposed similarity relationship has been tested on several ground prototypes by FEA. The results of the study show that the Earth prototype by the developed design method is capable of predicting the impact response with good accuracy.