MSL Entry, Descent and Landing Instrumentation (MEDLI)

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, which is set to launch Nov. 25, is expected to improve not only our knowledge of Mars, but also the science of hypersonic flight - more than five times the speed of sound - within an out-of-this-world atmosphere. That's something of great interest to NASA researchers who study flight through all atmospheres so they can help design better air and spacecraft.

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover is protected by an encapsulating aeroshell made up of a heat shield and back shell. Embedded in the MSL heat shield is a set of sensors designed to record the heat and atmospheric pressure experienced during the spacecraft's high-speed, extremely hot entry into the Martian atmosphere. The sensor suite is called MEDLI, which stands for MSL Entry, Descent and Landing Instrumentation.

"This is the first time we've ever had sensors that will collect accurate, high fidelity data of atmospheric entry at another planet," said Jim Pittman, head of the Hypersonics Project, which is part of the Fundamental Aeronautics Program in NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD). "Having that knowledge is of great interest to the hypersonics community - especially when it comes to being able to design future Mars entry systems that are safer, more reliable and lighter weight."

NASA's ARMD is one of the sponsors of the $28 million MEDLI system research, development and data analysis. It also has support from NASA's Science and Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorates, and is the first Technology Demonstration Mission from NASA's Space Technology Program to go into space.

For more info, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/news/msl-medli.html