Integrated Simulation and State Estimation for Precision Landing on Titan

This paper reports on a study of the application of a ram-air parafoil to Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) on Titan. A comprehensive simulation was constructed to enable simulation of EDL state estimation performance from 10 minutes before entry (E-10 min) to touchdown on the surface of Titan. EDL performance is characterized assuming an entry phase starting at E-10 min followed by a parafoil guided phase for descent and landing to enable precise landing on a predetermined target. Guided descent during the parafoil phase is achieved using the parafoil steering capability while state estimation is accomplished using vision-based Terrain Relative Navigation (TRN). The simulation is used in this study to conduct Monte Carlo analysis of TRN state estimation for a full entry phase sequence followed by a straight line flight path descent and landing.